Twin Tigers of Japan
by Arlinya
Summary: AU beginning after 1st season. Idea was a twist off of other stories (see 1st AN). Rei is badly injured after his battle with Bryan. But he's going to Japan, not China... And what's this? Kai is going with him? (Yaoi)
1. Discoveries

AN: Well, this is only my second fanfic at all, and my first Beyblade fic. This was written after reading the three stories by Ruriko Minamino; Fyne Inverse, Kaos Dragoness; and Ladya C. Maxine in which Rei gets trapped in Russia and is forced to live with Kai. I wondered if anybody had written about the opposite situation, but didn't find any. This is my take on how things would be. Part of a huge crossover, so if you get lost, please say something so I can clear it up, if I didn't mean for it to be mysterious in the first place. I have several chapters of this story already written, but need to revamp it. I am also going through a difficult time right now and Kiriko, my muse, has a tendency to wander. Thus it might be a month or more b/w updates, though I'll try for less.

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade. I do own the plot and some of the more minor characters you'll be meeting. Some of the introduced characters will be very important. You are NOT allowed to borrow them. Sorry for the long rant, now on with the story.

Discoveries

Rei sighed. Having been in the hospital for a little over two weeks had been difficult for him. But it had given him a chance to learn of the situation in Asia. He was very happy to have seen a Japanese lawyer only that morning about future events.

Rei didn't blame Bryan for the damage done at the Beyblade World Tournament. He had seen something in Bryan's eyes that showed him the truth. After all, Rei was no Usagi, but he did have a minor gift of otherworldly perception that was the gift of his ancestor.

Rei was presently in a car that had just arrived at the hotel the Bladebreakers were staying at. He was restricted to a wheelchair for another week and a half. After that, he wasn't allowed to do anything strenuous for another three months. Rei knew that it normally took him a much shorter time to heal, but the battle with Bryan had caused him to far overstep his boundaries in terms of power and healing ability. Rei had no doubt that Usagi would be furious with him for pulling what the clan simply called a "Himura."

I hope Drigger's safe. Yuri'll be so disappointed in me if he's lost. Let him be safe, ancestors, and let my family be well. Rei thought as he was helped up to the suite via a wheelchair.

The suite was a penthouse suite on the top floor, courtesy of the BBA. Rei was helped onto the couch before the hotel workers left, leaving him alone in an empty suite with only his bag to keep him occupied. Sighing, Rei took out a thick textbook, opened it a little past midway, and began to study.

Rei was so absorbed in his reading and taking notes that he failed to notice the suite door opening. He did, however, notice when a person sat beside him on the sofa. Once Rei found a good place to stop, he looked up from his book to see none other than his team captain there.

"Hey Kai, how's everything going?" Rei asked quietly. Kai sighed in return.

"The usual: the BBA is trying to take out my grandfather, but his influence and money is stalling the courts as the judges keep getting bought out. How and what are you doing?" Kai replied.

"I'm alright, though no training for three months and I'm stuck in the wheelchair for another week and a half. I'm just doing some studying. What with all the excitement and being stuck in a hospital I've fallen behind where I should be in my studies," was the reply.

"So I take it the BBA will do its best to keep you away from Voltaire?" The only reply he received was a quiet grunt. He wasn't upset at all. Kai would always be the silent and grumpy captain of the Bladebreakers, even when they were disbanded. "Then why don't you stay with me? I'll be moving to Japan to live with my family and we live in a fairly large house so there'll be plenty of room."

"I thought you were from China."

"I am, but only since I was eight. Before that, I lived in Japan. My family would be more than happy to take you in," Rei said, "especially Usa-itoko and Ikuko-basan."

"Who?" Kai was extremely confused. Rei smiled gently and was about to reply when the door opened again to reveal two young bladers and one blind computer geek. When the three saw who was sitting on their couch, they shouted his name in surprise and rushed towards him. They were blocked by Kai, who suddenly stood in front of the injured blader.

"He's injured. Put your stuff away," he said, his tone brooking no argument. The others obeyed, more than intelligent enough to not argue with the captain. Mr. Dickinson, who entered after the others, looked at the injured neko-jin in mild surprise.

"Welcome back, Rei! Oh, Kai, the BBA has decided to have you stay with Tyson until your grandfather has been dealt with. I…" That was as far as Mr. Dickinson got before Kai growled and interrupted him.

"There is no fucking way I'm staying with that idiot. I'd kill him before I was there for 72 hours," Kai said harshly, surprisingly showing true disgust at the idea of living with Tyson alone for any length of time.

"I'm sorry, my boy, but I really have no other options," Mr. Dickinson started again. This time he was interrupted by Rei.

"I've already offered to let Kai stay with me," Rei broke in. "He's already agreed." Although Kai hadn't really agreed, he understood that this was the only way out of living with Tyson and nodded his head, keeping his relief hidden.

"But my boy, you live in one of the most remote areas of China…"

"Not anymore. A family lawyer has finally managed to read my parents' will to me while I was here in Russia. I will be living in Japan under the careful eye of my family and cared for as I should have been since my parent's death almost six years ago," Rei stated calmly. "Kai will be well cared for, since my family is well-known for their uncanny habit of acquiring 'strays' and taking care of them. Everyone will be thrilled to see him." Kai glared at Rei for calling him a "stray." Rei merely smiled benignly in return and went back to reading his textbook and taking notes.

"Very well, I was rather worried about Kai staying with Tyson," Mr. Dickinson replied.

Translation: He knew Kai would kill Tyson before a week was out. Rei mentally translated, never looking up from his book or changing expressions.

"I expect the two of you to contact either myself or the J-BBA once a week."

Kai grunted his response before sitting down at Rei's feet and closing his eyes, falling into meditation as he completely ignored the head of the BBA. Rei merely nodded his head and began writing, intently focused on the passage he was reading.

Mr. Dickinson quietly noticed how the two seemed to have always gravitated towards each other. Rei's calm and quiet nature covered something more, that much even Mr. Dickinson could sense. It was barely detectable, but sometimes the way Rei moved reminded Mr. Dickinson of a trained warrior. Although Rei acted innocent and carefree (to a lesser degree than Tyson and Max, of course), it was obvious to anyone who watched the boy closely that he had seen the darker side of life. That he had managed to turn out as well as he had was no small feat and Mr. Dickinson was proud of the boy, just as he would have been for any of his own grandchildren.

Kai, on the other hand, made no secret of how hard his life had been during his youth. Having been physically and emotionally abused throughout his childhood had turned him into an emotional eunuch. His cold attitude was, however, hiding something, and hiding it quite effectively. Underneath all the grunts and cold behavior was a little boy who just wanted to be accepted. Mr. Dickinson had done his best to help the boy, but it was obvious that the boy had a hard time trusting adults.

The way Rei and Kai simply stayed close together, always sharing a room, teaming up against the younger boys, playing the parental figures during tours (Kai the strict father, Rei the kind-hearted "mother"), etc. made Mr. Dickinson smile. There was just an aura that sometimes surrounded the pair that Mr. Dickinson could easily see.

After staring at the boys for a while, a time during which they blatantly ignored him, Mr. Dickinson moved to the back of the suite, where the three other members of the team were. These children were just ordinary teens, living their lives to the best of their ability. He failed to realize that there was something infinitely special about each of them that prevented them from being ordinary, though of a gentler nature than that of Kai or Rei.

That night, after dinner, the phone rang. The boys were sitting around the living room in various stages of relaxation. Tyson was asleep on the loveseat, his feet hanging over the side as he snored softly. Max watched a cartoon quietly from the floor, keeping the volume and movement down so that he didn't disturb anyone. Mr. Dickinson had a late, last minute meeting that had forced him to leave the boys to their own devices until at least midnight. Kenny was talking with Dizzi in a chair at the far corner of the room. Kai sat at the foot of the sofa again, meditating. Rei was curled up across two-thirds of the sofa, reading a different textbook, this one thicker than the last.

When the phone rang, everyone except Tyson was startled. Tyson continued to sleep without a care in the world. Kai, being closest to the phone, picked it up and answered in English. He listened carefully for a second before handing it over to Rei without a word. Rei accepted the phone and put it to his ear.

"Moshi moshi," Rei managed to get out before immediately jerking the phone away from his ear. The others could hear the woman on the other end, she was screaming so loudly.

:"If you EVER, and I mean EVER,": her contralto voice yelled in Japanese:"pull a stunt like that again Shing, I swear to Kami-sama that I will tie you up myself! How DARE you even think about doing something so hare-brained! If Miyuu-chan were still alive…" At this point, Rei brought the phone towards his mouth, keeping the earpiece as far away as possible while the woman continued to rant.

"Ikuko-basan, you need to stop yelling. You know how sensitive my hearing normally is. It's twice as bad when all resources are focused on healing." When this failed to make any kind of dent in the voice level, he sighed and spoke louder. "PLEASE don't be so loud, you'll cause more damage." The voice was finally pulled up short. "I just got out of the hospital today. I'm confined to a wheelchair until two weeks from this Friday. After that, I can't do ANY strenuous activity, including practice or blading for the next three months. Everything is well on its way to recovery, but I promise to follow the doctor's orders to the letter, despite hisofu's legacy." Rei was completely calm, despite the threats the others had heard. He even had a small smile on his face. Bringing the receiver to his ear, he continued their conversation.

"Yes, obasan. Someone did inform me, just this morning in fact. They didn't say who though. YOU! That's GREAT! So everyone is already there and settling in?"

"… So how's Ling?" Rei was quiet for a few minutes. "I see. Well, tell them I'll be home by Monday at the latest. I'll send you the info soon as our flight is scheduled."

"What about him?... I know… I already offered it to him… Why wouldn't he? Although he did get upset when I described him as a stray to Mr. Dickinson…. No, he's not. … Okay. Bye!" He handed the phone back to Kai, who hung it up, a raised eyebrow the only sign of his confusion. Rei gave an imperceptible shake of his head. Kai let it go, for now.


	2. Revealing Thoughts

AN: Well, I got it together quicker than I though I would. So here you go, the second chapter of Twin Tigers of Japan. I would like to thank my reviewers, but don't want to waste too much of your time. Your questions will be answered after this chapter has concluded. For now, I'd just like to let you know that we have maybe four more chapters to go before I'm writing off the top of my head. Again, don't expect updates quite so often, finals are coming up here at school, and then there's x-mas, etc. The life of a college student is never boring.

Disclaimer: Beyblade is not mine. Suing me will not gain you anything. For Heaven's Sake, I'm a college student: we never have ANY money. Some of the characters coming up are mine, you'll find out later on. I don't own other anime involved in the making of this story either. I'm just making a crossover. And the plot is twisted from those by authors mentioned in Chapter 1. Although uniquely mine as I write it, the idea was taken from another and morphed to fit my own purposes….. no stealy, and I hope the three authors don't mind that I'm using this, though I should really only be asking Ladya C. Maxine. Anywho…. Enough with the blabbing, on with the fic!

Revealing Thoughts

Over the next three days, Rei got progressively better. Being out of the sterile hospital environment and being around his friends did him a world of good, even if he couldn't move much. Several reporters came into the suite to talk with Rei about the tournament, as they hadn't been allowed near him in the hospital. He suffered through them as best he could, managing to not get visibly upset or frustrated when they asked the same question several times. He did, however, go through an entire set of wooden pencils in private after the reporters left, breaking them until they could no longer be used. The maids who cleaned the suite didn't make a single comment upon emptying the trashcan they had been tossed in. They had merely given him sympathetic looks.

Sleeping arrangements were in the usual manner for non-tournament housing with three available bedrooms. Mr. Dickinson, of course, stayed in the fourth and last room in respect for all the work he had as the head of BBA. This meant that Tyson was put in his own room at the end of the hall, where his snoring would not disturb the others. Kenny and Max shared a bedroom with two twin beds, separated from Tyson's room by the bathroom. This prevented any sound from Tyson's room to be heard from their room when the door was closed. Next to Mr. Dickinson's room across the hall from the bathroom, was the master bedroom (directly across from Max and Kenny's room). This is where Kai and Rei were located, sharing the king-sized bed without problems.

Rei was presently propped up in the bed, comfortably leaning against numerous pillows, the blankets pulled up around his waist, legs still kept flat as they supported the huge textbook he was reading. With one hand, he precariously balanced a notebook while taking notes in it. He had been doing so quite often, to the confusion of the three younger bladers and Mr. Dickinson. Kai had just growled at Tyson when he had been asked for the third time why Rei was reading VOLUNTARILY. As far as Kai was concerned, it was Rei's business, though he figured that Rei was only trying to keep up with the grade level he was supposed to be at.

At that moment, Kai flung the door open, startling Rei into dropping the notepad and looking up. It was about 10:30 at night, so the lamps were on. In obvious frustration, he threw himself down on the other side of the bed, not even bothering to turn down the covers. He threw one hand over his eyes and growled deeply before making a visible effort to sink into meditation. Rei watched subtly as Kai failed to meditate and finally gave up, leaving his arm over his eyes. After a few minutes, Rei shrugged and began the long, drawn-out process of dealing with an angry Kai.

"Kai?" he asked softly, reaching out to lightly run fingers through Kai's bangs, a move Kai could barely feel. Kai grunted in response.

"What did they do this time?" Rei continued.

Kai sighed before saying, "Brainiac decided to watch the news in an effort to discover all the latest on computer technology. Smiley started whimpering, wanting to watch his cartoons, while Doofus wanted to watch the food channel. It devolved into the three of them fighting for the remote, literally. I ended up sending them to their rooms and turning the television off, as if they were two year olds."

"I see," was Rei's noncommittal reply. "Well it's starting to get late. Why don't you sleep it off, since you can't meditate. I should go to bed myself." Kai's grunt was answer enough. Since Rei was all ready in his night clothes (loose Chinese black pants, with a tie waist, and no top), he merely put his book on the dresser and turned out the light, snuggling into the warmth of the bed like a cat. Kai got up, grabbed his own nightclothes (a blue set of training pants, also no shirt) and a clean set of underclothes before heading into the master bathroom for a quick shower.

By the time he was finished, less than ten minutes later, Rei was mostly asleep. Even with the thick covers on the bed, Rei was curled into a tight ball, closer to the middle of the bed than he had been before. Kai raised an eyebrow. Realizing that it was probably just Rei's neko blood seeking warmth he shook his head, sending a few stubborn water droplets flying. Giving his hair one last thorough rub-down with his towel, he discarded his towel and dirty clothes on the floor next to the closet.

He pulled down the covers and slipped underneath, going towards the middle and brushing his hand along Rei's left side. Rei immediately relaxed, moving closer to the warmth of Kai's body. Kai allowed Rei close, the only one he could bring himself to accept the touch of. After what had been done to him in the abbey, he had closed himself off. Seeing Tala and the others at the tournament, as well as the events with Black Dranzer, had hurt him to the core.

Yet, and here Kai paused in his thoughts to stare at the neko-jin beside him, Rei had been even more hurt when Kai had betrayed them for Black Dranzer. In the end, partly out of knowledge of what Black Dranzer really represented and partly out of guilt for hurting Rei, he had returned to the Bladebreakers. Rei had always been a silent support for Kai, understanding without words when Kai needed space or a friendly presence.

And several times, when Kai had gotten up around two in the morning due to a plethora of worries, he had noticed Rei was up and gone in search of him. What he found was surprising. Each and every time, Rei was outside whatever building they were in and practicing a rigorous and deadly set of kata. Sometimes Rei wielded a wooden version of weapons, sometimes he practiced bare-handed, but it was obvious to Kai that Rei was even more deadly in a physical match than Kai himself was.

But that was beside the point, Kai turned out the lights and lay down completely, leaving himself open and vulnerable as he fell asleep, knowing that even if he shielded, a sleeping cat would always get their way and it was just better to accept that from the outset.

Around one in the morning, Rei woke up. This was usually the time he would crawl out of bed and go through his kata. They took him a good four hours and then he would sleep some more. He did this so that the others wouldn't learn about it and ask questions. Yet he knew Kai had discovered the sessions. But he could trust Kai. Even during Black Dranzer, he had trusted Kai to return, although he had still been hurt by the betrayal.

The situation he found himself in that night was unique. He forced himself not to move to prevent the aggravation of his injuries, but blinked in quiet surprise. He was literally curled around Kai, searching for any warmth the fiery blader could give. He lay with his head tucked under Kai's chin, his body half covering Kai's. His arm was thrown across the chest, curling until it was almost even with his nose. Since it was still wrapped heavily in bandages, he was surprised Kai hadn't woken up before and moved his arm. His less injured leg was slung over one of Kai's, resting in the curve formed where Kai's two legs met.

After that evaluation of his own body, which took mere seconds, he noticed how Kai was positioned. Kai was in the exact middle of the bed, completely relaxed, a fact that surprised Rei greatly. Rei had watched Kai sleep before and knew that the blader was tense, even asleep. But Kai was almost boneless in relaxation, both arms curling around Rei to cradle him around the waist. That was not all, Kai was also curling back into Rei. It was barely noticeable, but telling all the same.

Deciding that movement would really be a bad idea at the moment, Rei closed his eyes and sought to fall back asleep. He felt very oddly secure in Kai's embrace and dropped off quickly, promising himself that he would investigate these new and unusual feelings for his team captain.

When Kai woke up at 8:30 later that morning, he was not at all surprised at their positions. Rei was a very physical person and, as it has been mentioned previously, Kai knew better than to mess with a neko-jin, who was part cat after all. He carefully extricated himself from the neko-jin's embrace before performing his morning ablutions and getting dressed.

As Kai headed into the living room of their suite, he thought of what tomorrow would bring. They all left for Japan, while Mr. Dickinson stayed behind here. Kai knew nothing of what he was going into and that worried him. If he were an ordinary person, he might even say that the thought of the unknown scared him. But Kai was not allowed to be scared. So Kai sat down on the couch and tried not to think of such things. Instead, he tried to figure out why he felt so comfortable with Rei.

In the bedroom, Rei had woken up as Kai had left the bed. Rei was an extremely light sleeper, as most cats are. After Kai had left, Rei carefully maneuvered himself to the end of the bed and into the wheelchair to begin his own morning ablutions. Because these were mindless activities, Rei focused on his feelings for a certain blue-haired Russian. He spent a good hour searching his heart and coming to terms with what he saw there, though he would never say a word.

That night, as Rei slept, Kai sat at the window in their bedroom, staring out at the moonlit streets. Despite the fact that he had no wish to return to either the abbey or his grandfather's house, Russia was his home. For twelve years of his life he had lived in this country of cathedrals and long winters. In this land where the Czars once reigned, he had been taught the things that made him into the dysfunctional teenager he was. He knew he had mental scars from Boris and Voltaire, it was obvious in his constant desire to be the best as well as his inability to express his feelings.

As much as he knew the others thought that he was incapable of emotions other than anger and frustration, Kai could feel. He felt just as much as any other person. But the ability to express those emotions had been beaten out of him by Boris. At the moment he was confused, sad, and a little nostalgic. But mostly, he was worried. As much as he trusted Rei, he didn't know what to expect from Rei's family. Could they accept someone as broken as he was? Was he even worth wasting all of this time on? When they found out that he had betrayed Rei to join people who wanted to seriously injure Rei and take Drigger, would they hate him?

Kai brought his knees up to his chest, wrapped his arms around both legs, and rested his chin in between the knees. In that semi-fetal position, he came to terms with his heart and mind. He could never express what he had discovered; it would destroy the friendship he had managed to build with Rei. His feelings would be kept inside, just like every other time he'd had an emotion. Rei would never learn that Kai loved him.

Rei opened his eyes fractionally, careful to not let too much of his irises show. Moving his head slowly to avoid making any noise, he turned to watch Kai through his eyelashes. What he saw worried him more than losing Drigger had. He knew that, as much as Kai didn't show it, Kai had feelings. But to see his team captain so depressed to the point where he caught sight of a thin trail of tears that sparkled in the moonlight, tore his heart apart.

The rest of the night was spent restlessly by both of them. Kai continued to cry silently, unaware that he was doing so, or that he was being watched by Rei. Rei really did try to sleep, knowing that until Kai chose to let him in, there was nothing he could do.

AN: Thank you to my three reviewers.

Devilburns, you were my first reviewer and thank you for your praise. Here's a cyber Rei and cyber Kai plushie for you! (Hands over said objects).

Jojo, I'm glad you're enjoying this. I hope I continue to please with where I take this story. Have a cyber lollie for being my third reviewer. (hands over the lolly)

And finally, Mistskeeper, whose response was the longest. Have a jar of cyber cookies (hands over said jar). I will think on your advice about the nickname, I haven't gotten to a point in the story where they would call each other by nicknames. Thank you for the compliment, I'm glad someone thinks what I'm writing about is a good idea. About your question… Well, you'll just have to wait and see. Keep reading and you'll find out. A death threat for not updating? That's a first for me… I find it kind of funny, but school comes before writing and I sometimes take a month to get where I like in a chapter. For the next few chapters, I'll probably be a little quicker cause I've already written it once. And hopefully, over the holidays, I can get a little more written. But we'll see… Murphy's Law and all that.

Please read and review, as this is only my second fanfic (please read my Harry Potter Fanfic, Growing Up) at all and my first anime fanfic. Thank you for taking the time to read this story. Although I know it sounds like I'm begging for reviews, they really do cause inspiration… I think Kiriko-chan lives off of reviews. Flames will be used to roast whoever came up with my scheduled times for next semester, or my brother, whichever is more convenient depending on my geographical position.

Till next time, Aloha a hui hou and ja matta ne!

Arlinya Sayuri Roh-?


	3. The Flight to a New Home

AN: Here's another chapter…. Comments at the bottom, as usual.

The Flight to a New Home

The day their flight was to leave dawned bright and early. Rei, having managed to barely fall asleep just half an hour before, woke up grumpily with the sun in his eyes. Then, even through the closed window, he heard the birds singing their cheery greetings to the new day.

"I'm up! I'm up!" he grumbled, even more annoyed. When the birds continued to sing, he growled. The feline sound grew in intensity when he sat up and discovered he had a headache. "Damn birds!" he muttered, as he crawled to the end of the bed and almost fell into the wheelchair. Due to his preoccupation, he failed to realize that Kai had watched the entire thing from the window seat. (AN I know there probably aren't birds that wake people up at seven in Russia, but I'm using authorial creativity license here. Deal with it)

Kai had never actually fallen asleep. He had stared out the window all night, reliving the regret, pain, and hardships of his life in Russia. In many ways, he was very glad to be leaving his grandfather and Boris behind. But he would miss the Demolition Boys, who he had grown up with. Even though they had fought against him, it was on orders and he still remembered all the hardships they faced together.

When Rei left, Kai got up and opened the closets where Rei's outfits were kept. He pulled out a pair of Chinese black pants, undershirt in dark gray, matching robe in black, black Chinese slippers, dark gray fingerless gloves, and blood red sash. The robe had the normal slits up to the waist, with all hems edged in a blood red that matched the sash. Embroidered on the robe was a gold and emerald tiger on the front, a silver and ruby tiger in a matching pose on the back. He put these on the bed and went to his own closet.

Taking out a pair of black cargos, midnight blue fingerless gloves, socks, and shoes, he also took out a black long-sleeved shirt instead of his normal tank top. He also took his white scarf and blue face paint with him as he headed for the other bathroom, knowing the others wouldn't be up at seven in the morning. A black military style long-sleeved jacket was thrown on the nearest chair before he left.

When Rei finally wheeled back into the bedroom after his bath, wrapped in a robe and towel, he noticed the clothes on his bed and smiled softly, knowing Kai was the culprit. Although Kai rarely ever gave an obvious sign of friendship with the Bladebreakers, little things such as letting Tyson and Max avoid training occasionally when he could easily find them, showed that he cared. Rei quickly, but carefully, changed into the clothes, stroking the silver and ruby tiger in fondness before putting on the robe.

Sighing in relief and appreciation, Rei finished drying his hair with the towel from around his shoulder as quickly as his injured arm would allow. Deciding to forgo truly caring for his hair, since it required two functioning hands, Rei merely brushed through it to the best of his ability and left it loose. Wheeling the evil contraption (what he had taken to calling the wheelchair) towards the living room, he felt his injuries and headache begin to throb in time with his pulse. The only sign of this pain was a resigned sigh.

The living room contained approximately half the team. Mr. Dickinson was sitting in the arm chair, reading the newspaper. Kenny, up early as usual, sat in a corner of the couch talking with Dizzi. Kai leaned against the mantle of the fireplace. This observation surprised Rei, since Kai was usually leaning against the wall farthest from the heat.

Rei stopped at the small table in the middle of the room and focused on the tabletop. When that only made his headache worse, he tried to focus on his breathing. Nothing was working. Focusing on the table had diluted the pain from his injuries, but increased the pain from his headache. Focusing only on his breathing had the opposite effect. Rei made sure to keep the others from noticing his pain, showing a stoicism that would have surprised the others, had they known.

Half-an-hour later, Kai growled in frustration and left the room. Within a minute, shouting could be heard as Tyson was, as usual, forcefully evicted from his bed. The sound of opening doors was heard for a while, before everything went quiet.

Max finally stumbled in, looking as if he hadn't even bothered trying to appear decent. He collapsed in the other corner of the couch. Several minutes later, Tyson stumbled in wearing his usual attire with his hair still damp from his shower. He took the middle of the couch and almost fell across the laps of both Max and Kenny. Kai followed, glaring at the world, but carrying two cups, one full of water and another with pills resting at the bottom. He placed both on the table next to Rei.

Just then, there was a knock on the door, which Kenny got up and answered. It was room service, with enough food to satisfy even Tyson's hunger. Instead of moving back to the fireplace, Kai took a seat beside Rei as the others also sat at the table to eat. Tyson immediately dug in and everyone ignored him to prevent themselves from throwing up. When Rei went to take his pills, he noticed that there were two more than normal. The two extra pills were pain meds, exactly what Rei needed.

The short journey to the bus that would be taking them to the airport caused Rei to shiver violently. While, like many cats, Rei was usually fairly immune to the cold, his injuries and complete lack of reserves at the end of the world tournament changed everything. All of his energy was focused on healing, every spare drop not used for ordinary functions like breathing and eating. Thus, not only was Rei extremely fatigued all the time, but his ability to withstand any change in temperature was non-existent.

Once the bus started, the heater also started. Unfortunately for Rei, it took a while to take any kind of effect and he was sitting mid-way back on the bus. Kenny sat next to Mr. Dickinson in the seats directly behind the driver. Tyson had fallen asleep and was leaning against Max, who was thoroughly embarrassed and tried to shove the boy towards the window. Kai sat in the back of the bus, undisturbed. Unusually, he kept watch over the team, especially Rei.

When Max's plane started to load passengers, the Bladebreakers acted like nothing more than a group of pre-teens parting for the summer. Considering that even Kenny, the youngest, was almost fourteen and that they might not see each other again for a year, it was a little unrealistic. But all of them, even Kai to a certain extent, gave fond farewells to the blond boy.

As Max disappeared from sight in the gate, Rei remembered the first time he had met the blond, as well as all the time since then that had been spent with him. He knew that, despite the scary sugar rush highs Max loved to indulge in, as well as the naïve attitude that had occasionally gotten Max into some tight squeezes, he would miss Max. Max had been the true innocent of the team, unspoiled by any of life's darker half. Even Max's Bit Beast, Draceil, echoed that innocence in the fact that its primary strength was defense, not offence. Draceil being the Kami Bit Beast of Water also fit Max, who adapted quickly to any situation. This got Rei to pondering the rest of the team during the rest of the six-hour wait before their plane to Japan took off.

Tyson was the carefree miracle worker of the team, their 'ace up the sleeve' so to speak. When things became grim, Tyson was at the top of his game. His Kami Bit Beast, Dragoon, used the temperamental and unpredictable element of air. He was also very naïve, but not as true an innocent as Max. Tyson knew of the darker side of life and accepted its existence. He even acknowledged that he had some darker attributes. Despite this, Tyson fought for what was right with as strong a conviction as anyone could ask for. He rarely faltered.

Kenny, although not an official member of the team since he didn't actually blade, was very important for team stability. Kenny and Dizzi combined knew more about Beyblading and Bit Beasts than almost any other person - or even group of people - in the world. With their help, both in strategies and blade modifications, the Bladebreakers had made it to the top. Kenny was a quiet boy, and much more timid than the gregarious Tyson or affable Max. In fact, he was reserved to the point where it worried Rei. Dizzi, his loyal and loving Fire Bit Beast, had been installed in a computer during an incident Rei didn't know the full account of. According to Kenny, Dizzi was a griffin and the only female, Bit Beast or human that he talked to. But her power levels and abilities were unknown since she had never been evaluated in a battle.

Next came Kai… Rei had been thinking about Kai so often, that these memories came quickly. Kai was the leader, a strong boy who had been tarnished by the darkness he had been raised in. Kai was strength. Kai was the fire that his Kami Bit Beast, Dranzer, used in her attacks. He had been forged in the harshest of ways by a grandfather who saw him as nothing more than a tool. Often, he burned anyone and anything he came in contact with. But Rei, unlike anyone else, had managed to survive the dislike, bitterness, and anger that always surrounded Kai and had seen other aspects of Kai's nature. Yes, fire burned, but it could also warm. THAT side of Kai, Rei knew he alone had seen. Not even the Demolition Boys had seen that side of him.

Even though Kai had betrayed the Bladebreakers during the Black Dranzer incident, Rei had instantly forgiven Kai, as the others had not. Rei knew that it took a great deal of courage and strength to go against what you had been raised to be. Kai had been raised to show no emotions and to crave power, two things that were now taking their toll on the seventeen year old. Kai had been tarnished by the darker side of life, but despite what most people obviously thought, was not a bad person overall. Knowing a little of what Kai would be going through, Rei knew it would take a lot of time for his captain to forgive HIMSELF for his actions.

This brought Rei to think of his OWN place on the team. He was the mediator, the balance between Kai's dark and Max's light. With Drigger, the Kami Bit Beast of Gold, Rei was the reliable member of the team. Although he did occasionally lose, and he had his moments of uncertainty, Rei knew that he won a lot more frequently than any other team member but Kai, who was almost perfect, did. Rei knew the darker side of life and could understand what the younger team members could not. He KNEW that evil would always seek power, that it would focus on their Bit Beasts for the power they displayed when properly used. He also knew that letting evil people like Voltaire get a hold of any one of their Bit Beasts was asking for the destruction of this world.

Rei knew that Kai didn't treat him as harshly because Kai had realized early on that he knew what was coming. Sweet and innocent as Rei pretended to be, he was a fighter through and through. He was even more of a fighter than Kai since he was in no way specialized. He wasn't just a Bladebreaker, he was a warrior of the ancient Chinese and Japanese defensive arts. He had also been responsible for himself and others for over half his life. This gave him an unnatural maturity that even Mr. Dickinson bowed to in respect. Not that Rei ever let on to that maturity with his opponents, until the very last moment. That's what had happened with Bryan.

Mr. Dickinson interrupted Rei's thoughts with a hand on his shoulder. He handed Rei a sandwich and water for lunch, which Rei gladly accepted and ate quickly, feeling famished. For the rest of the time until the flight, Rei alternated between watching the antics of Tyson and Kenny, and staring out the window.

When the plane finally boarded, Rei was relieved, he had felt Kai's eyes on him and felt nervous. Now, since they were seated next to each other, he hoped Kai wouldn't stare so much. They were the first ones on the plane, seeing as they not only sat in first class, but Rei needed special help with the wheelchair. Rei took the window seat, just to irritate the wheelchair drivers and Kai. Kai shook his head and sat down, shoving his carry-on under the chair in front of him. Tyson and Kenny were seated across the way.

The flight took seven hours, with dinner served two hours into the flight. Tyson alternated between talking to Kenny and watching the available movies. After the meal, Tyson slept soundly for the rest of the flight, to the relief of Kenny and Dizzi. Kenny talked with Tyson, but mostly worked with Dizzi, making sure to have earplugs in so no one else could hear her. Kai listened to his mp3 player the entire time after take-off but fell asleep an hour after dinner, his reserves completely drained from his insomnia the night before. The mp3 player continued to run, with snatches being heard by Rei while he was still awake. Rei had started off by reading a textbook, but had also fallen asleep, his injuries causing him to need a great deal of sleep. His book rested open in his lap, very precariously balanced.

When the flight attendant came to check up on the passengers to see if they required anything, she nearly squealed at the sight that met her eyes when she turned to Kai and Rei. She managed to only squeak, but that noise alone caused Kai to wake up. Rei was leaning towards Kai, head almost touching Kai's shoulder. Again, the cold air of the plane caused Rei to shiver. Kai took the book off Rei's lap and put it in the seat pocket and draped the blanket the stewardess handed him over Rei's form. He then reclined the seat and his own before settling down again. He crossed his arms and let his chin fall against his chest.

After a short stop in Hong Kong, where they grabbed a quick breakfast, they took a smaller plane to Narita Airport. They quickly got through customs, and were ready to leave the airport by 8:15. Kenny and Tyson were picked up by Tyson's grandfather, since Kenny's parents were busy with their restaurant. They left around 8:40. Kai leaned against a wall in the baggage claim area, surrounded by their bags. Rei dozed lightly in a wheelchair nearby.

It was almost 9:30 when Kai saw a fairly tall Japanese man in a tuxedo approaching them in ground-eating strides. Kai straightened and put his hand on Rei's shoulder, startling him awake. When Rei looked at Kai for an explanation, Kai merely tilted his head in the direction of the approaching man. Rei looked curiously at the man before smiling in recognition.

The man stopped directly in front of Rei and bowed deeply. "Forgive me for my tardiness Master Rei. Traffic was terrible this morning due to an accident that occurred just after I began to drive to the airport. If you could please wait for just a few minutes, I will get your bags loaded. Also, Chizuko wants me to take charge of your medications, she's very vexed with you."

"That's fine, Fujimaru-san. The medicines are in my carry-on," Rei replied. Gesturing to Kai, he continued, "This is Hiwatari Kai, the one who will be staying with us for a while. Kai, this is Fujimaru, the family chauffer." Kai nodded at Fujimaru, who bowed deeply in return. After finding a cart, Fujimaru proceeded to take the luggage outside. It took him two trips. While Fujimaru took the last of the luggage, Kai pushed Rei's wheelchair, to save the man a trip. The car that they stopped at was actually a limousine, surprising Kai.

The accident had been cleaned up and the ride from Narita airport went smoothly, even though it was fairly long. There wasn't any silence in the car as Fujimaru talked about all that had been going on in the house since the arrival of people Kai had never heard of. To him, it sounded like there were twelve or so other people who would be occupying the house other than the three servants. Chizuko compared to a chatelaine, while the last servant, Ryousuke, was the butler. It seemed that Ryousuke had just started to recover from a severe cold and was on light duties.

AN: Thanks again to my reviewers. I've gotten so many for this story it amazes me. 10 reviews in 2 chapters, versus the 15 for 5 in my HP story… I'm awed and very grateful!

Jojo Thank you, I hope I continue to write a story you enjoy.

Tsunami-girl I'm glad you liked the bed scene. And no, they won't get together too quickly. They each have problems they need to deal with.

Neko-Jenn Thank you! I hope you continue to enjoy my story.

LordIronDuke126 Kata is the Japanese word for the forms in a martial arts school that a student learns. Each kata has a set number of moves in a certain pattern. Done correctly, it almost looks like the performer is dancing. The blade you're thinking of is the katana. Hope you enjoyed the clothing I had them wearing… I will make up my own clothes. Thanks for mentioning that, I almost forgot to describe it all. Thank you for the encouragement and question. I hope you continue to enjoy the story.

Akira Shadow Thank you for trying to correct my spelling, however…. Tzar is more commonly spelled Czar in America and my computer yells at me for writing it with a T, thus to prevent myself from seeing more red marks and because that's how I'm used to writing it and I just don't know Russian, you're stuck with that spelling. Thank you for the comment. Please continue to enjoy my story.

Birty thank you for making me your first review! Thank you for noting that I keep it realistic. I don't like those stories much either. I promise not to make Rei too Mary-Sue-ish. He IS injured and that won't fade quickly. And while he'll lack in a great deal of physical shortcomings, he'll make up for it with some mental and emotional ones…. Trust me to know what I'm doing. Most of my characters are angsty. And he won't be good at everything…. For example, I plan to make him very bad at cleaning a house and a terrible science and math student…. OMG! You put my on your fav. Authors list and fav. Stories list! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! Such an honor!

Mistskeeper No, they won't get together too soon. Mental and emotional problems will interfere… as well as the plot and other things. There will only be lots of fluffy moments when their asleep or don't realize it. I'd also be glad to read your story! It would be an honor to help an up and coming writer, thank you for asking me! Wow, asked to help with only my second fic, thank you! Writing novels is fine, they make me feel extra warm and tingly inside. You are my first repetitive reviewer for this story…. Have a Rei cyber cookie jar, it's a collectable.

Braeca The reason you're last is because I really must write quite a bit for you…. Thank you for your review. It was very sweet of you. At first, I thought it was going to be my very first flame… that first sentence of yours was rather abrupt and scary. Then I continue and find out that you're upset because I've gotten so few reviews…. Dear… I've gotten more reviews for this story than my other one has at twice the length. I don't mind…. I'm just glad to be getting any kind of reviews whatsoever. Thank you for noticing Rei's three-dimensionality… I noticed it too. I tend to write my characters with lots of personal problems, so be prepared for a Kai AND Rei who think and act like real people… they may be out of character because of this. Thank you for placing it among the most promising. I promise upon my staff and cards that I shall finish this story, though it may take me five or more years. Please continue to read and review my stories… I'm anxious to see what else you have to say.

AGAIN! Thank you to ALL of my reviewers, old and new…. I hope you all enjoyed my story, as Kiriko is doing her best to hurry me along. Please review this fic, it encourages us both. Mele Kalikimaka and Happy New Year, in case I don't get another chapter out before then.


	4. Meeting the Family

AN: I had a very disappointing review this last chapter, which made Kiriko and me very sad…. However, my loyal reviewers and other reviewers have perked me up a great deal. I'm sorry to hear that someone was disappointed in my story, but more on that to that reviewer at the end.

Disclaimer: Haven't done this in a while…. Here's where we begin to introduce people. Like I said, most are mine, don't borrow them. Beyblade is NOT mine, but the plot and added characters like Chizuko, Ryousuke, and Fujimaru are. Thank you! Please read and review!

Meeting the Family

Fujimaru finally pulled into a driveway and slowed down. This woke Kai up, who had been dozing in his seat. He looked at where the limo was pulling up and raised an eyebrow in surprise. He probably should have guessed with the limo, but they were pulling up to a mansion. It was only four stories high, but very spacious, as most houses in Japan were not. Also, it was heavily influenced by the Chinese architecture. There was also a great deal of land attached to the house, only some of which could be seen from the driveway.

After the car stopped, Fujimaru opened the door on Rei's side and then came around to Kai's. Kai stepped out and looked more closely at his surroundings. He saw another man in a tuxedo come down the front steps and help Rei into a waiting wheelchair. There was a special temporary ramp built over the left corner of the stairs that Rei was lead up. Kai followed, knowing better than to try and help Fujimaru.

"Ryousuke-san," Rei was saying when Kai caught up, "this is Hiwatari Kai, who will be staying with us. Kai this is the butler Ryousuke." Both nodded respectfully at each other.

"Has a room been prepared for Kai?" Rei asked as they entered the genkan (Japanese entryway: normally a really tiny room with room to only change from shoes to house slippers). It was about three times the size of a normal genkan. Along the walls on both sides were long shoe storage shelves that held a multitude of shoes. The shoes varied greatly in size with the smallest being capable of fitting kindergarteners with the largest obviously meant for Ryousuke and Fujimaru, with sizes and styles ranging in between as well. The interior of the house was a perfect blend of western culture and Japanese and Chinese cultures.

"Yes, Rei-sama. The only ones home are you two. Yuri-sama and the youngest are at a trial photo shoot but should be home soon as Fujimaru-san just left to pick them up. The triplets are playing basketball at the park. The others are at lessons with Usagi-sama," Ryousuke reported before Rei could ask. "As soon as Yuri-sama returns home, I shall inform her of your arrival. Chizuko-san is out shopping for food and basic necessities."

"Thank you, Ryousuke," Rei replied. Ryousuke bowed and left the room.

"Who the hell are you?" Kai asked suddenly, his voice as flat as it had been during the incident with Black Dranzer. He took a seat on the couch.

"My real name is Kong Reiken Shing. I am the son of Kong Jiang Yu and Kong Miyuu Lin," Rei said softly, looking around the room in an effort to avoid Kai's searching eyes.

"Didn't they, and their seven children, disappear six years ago in China?" Rei's nod was the only reply. "Hn. Did you think that would make me hate you?" Rei nodded again. Kai sighed.

"Just because you kept secret six siblings and the fact that you are richer than even my grandfather, doesn't mean I will hate you Rei. It actually explains a lot of what you were hiding."

After that assurance from Kai, Rei smiled slightly and began to speak of what life had been like before the death of his parents. He had lived in this very house and been raised lovingly by his parents, Chizuko, Fujimaru, and Ryousuke. They had been on an annual trip to visit the village. But that year, an unusual and new plague had struck the village. The antidote arrived shortly after the Kongs did, but the damage was done.

Jiang and Miyuu had helped with the afflicted and ended up contracting the disease themselves. Jiang had died only three days after contracting the disease, a fairly short time. Miyuu, who had been five months pregnant at the time, lasted for another four months. This was a miracle in the eyes of the villagers. All other victims had died within two weeks of contracting the disease. The birth produced the youngest additions to the Kong family… a pair of girls. Miyuu died a week after the birth, leaving the children orphans and in the care of the village.

At that moment, they both heard the front door open and the sound of female voices carried into the room. Two tiny blurs sped through the open door and towards Rei.

"Aniue! Aniue!" came the call from the blurs. When they climbed into Rei's lap, they were revealed to be two young girls, about five years old. One had blonde hair and lilac eyes, while the other had light pink hair—like a rose, not like Mariah's hair—and the same golden eyes Rei had. Both were obviously his siblings.

"Aniue, who is this?" asked the blonde, who was the first to notice Kai. No one noticed when another figure stepped quietly into the room.

"This," Rei said, patting her head, "is my friend and team captain, Hiwatari Kai. Kai, these two munchkins are my youngest siblings, the ones born in China. The blonde is Aiko Xiang and the pink-haired one is Momoko Zhen." As Rei said this, Momoko climbed out of his lap and into Kai's.

"Hi Kai-nii! Will you be staying long?" she asked, seemingly unafraid of Kai. Kai raised a curious eyebrow at her, which set Rei to laugh. But after only a few seconds, Rei began to wheeze. Both girls and the figure by the door turned to Rei in concern.

"Aniue? Aniue! What's wrong?" Aiko cried, trying to push her brother upright. Momoko made as if to join her twin, but before she could squirm her way out of Kai's lap, she felt herself being lifted and placed on the couch. Aiko soon found herself next to her twin, having been lifted from Rei's lap by a pair of callused hands. Kai forced Rei upright and held him until he got his breathing back under control. But it took longer for Rei's voice to return. The figure had moved to the twins and kept them sitting.

"Your Aniue was badly hurt during the World Championships almost three weeks ago and his ribs were nearly broken. His muscles tightened when he was laughing, putting pressure on the ribs and making it hard for him to breathe," Kai said softly. He didn't look at the couch, keeping an eye on Rei, whose eyes were closed. Kai didn't know if they understood, but he figured telling them the truth was the best course of action. Rei's thankful smile was answer enough.

"We know Aniue was hurt in that battle with meanie Bryan. But we normally recover from things like hurt ribs in a few weeks! He should be almost better!" Momoko exclaimed.

"Hai," said the figure holding the twins down, "normally we do. But Aniue was VERY badly injured and both Ikuko-basan and Usa-itoko are mad at him for such stupid mistakes. It will take a lot of time to fully recover. He's only been out of the hospital for a week."

Kai spun around in surprise. He was ALWAYS aware of how many people were in a room and where they were. Yet this young woman had managed to come into and cross the room without detection.

"Oh," said observant Aiko, "does this mean we can't sit in Aniue's lap?"

"Not for a while." This was said by Rei, who then opened his eyes and smiled at the young woman. "Hey Ling, good to see you again."

"Good to see you too Shing," she said, leaning over and gently hugging him. She turned to Kai. "My name is Yuriko Ling. I'm Rei's twin sister. A pleasure to meet you Hiwatari-san."

Her claim was substantiated by the fact that she was, literally, a female version of Rei. She had the same sable hair of her twin, hanging freely down to her knees, with the same style for the bangs. Her eyes, like both Rei and Momo, were a very clear gold. Kai judged that she was the exact same height as Rei.

"Kai is fine," was Kai's gruff reply. It didn't phase Yuri, who merely herded the twins out of the living room and up the stairs. Once the girls were out of sight, Kai turned to Rei with a raised eyebrow.

Knowing what Kai was thinking, Rei answered immediately, "Five sisters, three brothers. I'm the eldest." And with that, Rei turned to a painting hanging over the fireplace. It was of a couple wrapped in each other's arms and smiling out of the picture. The man looked a great deal like Lee, except with emerald green eyes and coarse blue hair cropped short all around. The woman was graceful and obviously not a full neko-jin. She appeared almost ethereal with her long black hair and stunning sapphire cat eyes. Kai realized that this was a picture of Rei's parents and noticed that all four siblings took after their mother's body structure.

It wasn't long before the girls came back down, dressed in different clothes. Momo wore a cute pink jumper over a cream shirt, her shoulder-length hair pulled into pigtails high on her head. Ai wore a pair of lilac overalls over a cream shirt, with her shoulder-length hair left loose. Yuri wore an outfit almost identical to Rei's, furthering the similarities between them. Where Rei wore black, Yuri wore white. Rei's dark gray gloves and undershirt were replaced with light gray. Yuri's robe was edged with forest green, and she also wore a forest green sash instead of Rei's blood red. Everyone took seats around the living room.

At that moment, a woman wearing an apron over a yellow dress came through another door—this one a swinging door—carrying a tray. On the tray were five glasses, a pitcher of milk, a saucer containing Rei's pills, and a plate piled high with sandwiches. The tray was placed on the coffee table and the woman smiled kindly at Rei in greeting. She also smiled at Kai, recognizing him immediately from the coverage of the tournament.

"Greetings Kai-sama. I am Chizuko. Please feel free to ask me for anything, no matter what time it is." Kai nodded his head. Chizuko turned back to Rei. "Rei-sama, the others are expected back within an hour."

"Thank you Chizuko-san."

Again, the door to the living room from the entryway opened. This time, five children walked through the door. Three of them were dressed in sporty clothes and slightly sweaty from a good workout. The other two wore karate outfits. All of them missed the five already in the living room since they were being herded towards the hall by Ryousuke.

After all of them had showered, they came downstairs and back into the living room. They finally saw Rei and hugged him carefully, the two girls accompanying it with a kiss to the cheek. Each of them introduced themselves to Kai, bowing deeply to welcome him to the family.

A girl with crimson hair and light violet eyes was the thirteen year old Natsuko Meiying. Then came the triplets: Kentarou Jin had brown hair and marine-blue eyes, Kiriko Lee had light blue hair and sapphire eyes, and Shinryuu Tien had brown hair and crystal blue eyes. They were eleven years old. Nine year old Ryuuken Sying was next youngest after the twins and had deep violet eyes and matching violet hair.

AN: Okay, just to let you know… only the twins and Yuriko will be very important to the plot line. The others are pretty much minor characters. This will probably confuse you… and for that I'm sorry, but it's necessary that there be eight siblings to explain his maturity. After all, after raising seven siblings, two of them from shortly after their birth, for six years, anyone would be mature.

Japanese terms used in this chapter: san is a method of addressing someone, equivalent to Ms./Mrs. and Mr. sama is a very formal mode of address that is usually used for someone of higher rank in a company; here it is used as a way of distinguishing servants from the family that they serve. Aniue is a very formal way to say older brother (literally, it means brother above) I use this because Ai and Momo have four older brothers and need a way to distinguish between them and since Rei basically raised them he is ranked at the same level as a father. –nii is a short form of Oniisan which means older brother and is used here as a term of familiarity, thus the reason Kai raises an eyebrow or two. –basan is a shortened version of the Japanese word for Aunt. –itoko is the Japanese word for cousin. The reason I put last names first here is because that is a Japanese convention and they ARE in Japan after all.

Thank you to all of my reviewers for taking the time to read my story and post a review, I know how hard it is. I would like to also thank the majority of you for encouraging me and giving constructive criticism, it really helps me improve my writing. Thank you to those who have added me to their favorite authors or favorite stories lists. I am honored beyond belief. So, without further ado, the personal commentary!

Aznfire: Thank you! I will

NekoYaoi: I hope that I can keep you liking this story! Thank you for your support.

Krazykel: Thank you! I'm glad you try everything too. Mele Kalikimaka means Merry Christmas in Hawaiian. BTW, Where does your name come from?

Platinum Rei: Thank you I hope I continue to perform to your liking.

Mistskeeper: Thank you so much for your continued reviews. I truly appreciate having such a loyal reviewer.

Natasha-Li: Thank you.

TaraIvanhov: Lee will probably NOT be in this story, but only because I already have planned too many characters to handle as it is. The Demolition Boys… well, you'll just have to wait and see… Oh dear me….It seems you are one of my more observant reviewers… don't spoil the whole thing for everyone else, kay?

Kero-chan39: Thank you.

Fayalargo: I have a very mixed response for you. Thank you for your reviews, the numbers are nice, but not necessary. I prefer quality over quantity personally. In the first chapter "more than intelligent enough" is used to refer to the fact that they are smart enough after spending the entire season with Kai to not tick him off. Thank you for thinking that I'm keeping Rei in character. I'm Very Upset (Yes, the capitals are important) with your review of my third chapter. I'm sorry you feel that way, but the way you responded to your feelings was almost as bad as flaming me. I've never been so upset with someone's written response for either this fic or any fic I read the reviews for. Perhaps it's that this fic is my baby. Maybe just that nothing really constructive comes out of your review. As I said before, I don't care about numbers of reviews (as I mentioned last chapter as well to braeca), I care about how those reviews help me with my writing. Chapter three is a VERY pertinent chapter because although slightly boring (which even I'll admit), it gets them from Russia to Japan. I tried to make the chapter as non-boring as possible via the insights, which will play a very important role in several ways later on down the line. Talking about your own story was not only RUDE, it was inappropriate and completely unrelated. If you really felt like you were bragging, you would have deleted that part of your review and wrote the rest. Again, I'm sorry you thought the chapter was unnecessary, but there comes a point in every story where the action and dialogue are slow. About the only near constructive thing you wrote was that you wanted more dialogue, which was impossible for the story and plot. You forget that I'm dealing with an anti-social character as my main focus and that Rei's mobility is severely limited by the wheelchair and that Tyson and Max are both bouncy figures that rarely stand still for longer than two minutes. Kai would not be willing to push Rei around at this stage, Mr. Dickinson was too busy, and Kenny pretty much lives, eats, and breathes his computer. Rei CAN'T push it himself, his arm is INJURED. Maybe in your eyes the information is unnecessary, but I tend to foreshadow, this is a very common writing convention good authors use and that's what I'm trying to be. Besides, it's fun to give hints. The first chapter is chock full of plot hints as well. And now you've made me reveal more than I wanted to in explaining things to you!

Braeca: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! Once again, Braeca you made Kiriko and me very happy and relieved. You wrote me just after I had a problematic review, as you can see above… Your review cheered me up because it showed that someone was capable of understanding the necessity for slow movement in plot and dialogue. Thank you for saying I succeeded in making it less dull by including character analyses. Thank you for saying you like how I portray Rei. He's always seemed like a very strong character to me and I was upset because it always seemed like they short him of a true strength in the show. They always focus more on Tyson for hidden strength. Thank you for the tip, you made me reconsider a bit how I'm going to write the story. That was a good thing and will improve my writing. As I said above, only Yuri, Momo, and Ai will be important OCs. The others are pretty much filler/minor characters. You've given me more work because now I have to rewrite the plot a bit, but I don't mind at all. Didn't much like the original chapter five anyway. Maybe tangents aren't your friends, but this tangent was light-hearted and a wonderful way to end a wonderful review. Again, thank you for being the perfect balm after a saddening and aggravating review.

TO ALL REVIEWERS: Just because I mention in some responses that they are intelligent reviewers and very perceptive does NOT mean I feel some of you are stupid. As a matter of fact, you have all been wonderfully intelligent and perceptive, making this fic an absolute joy to write. Your questions and comments are helpful in maintaining, not only my spirit and will to write, but also the quality. Please continue to enjoy my story and reviewing. I truly appreciate the help. MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR! Happy Kwanzaa! Happy belated Chanukkah! Happy Chinese New Year!


	5. Holiday Special 2004

AN: I know… this is so unusual! Two chapters in a single day! This is a one-time (I think) holiday special. A little scene wouldn't come out of my head and I just HAD to write it out. Not REALLY a chapter in that it's a total standalone, as long as you know the characters I introduced in the fourth chapter. Included WITH the story since you need to know the characters in this story to know what's going on. I tend to use only the first part of a character's names, since I gave them such long ones. Consider these their nicknames, kay?

Disclaimer: Most of the characters in this little skit are mine, I made them up. You can't borrow them. But the Beyblade characters (whom you all should know) belong to others. Don't sue me for writing a fanfic, it goes against everything a fanfic represents.

A Holiday Tableaux

The scene opens on a fairly large room decorated for Christmas. There are a few chairs and a sofa present, with a coffee table placed against the wall. In the corner of the room stands a Christmas tree which has been tastefully decorated. On the coffee table is a pile of decorated sugar and gingerbread cookies next a pitcher of cold milk and several glasses. Christmas songs can be heard faintly in the background.

The camera pans to the twins, Ai and Momo, who are seated on the floor close by. Ai is wearing a red crushed velvet jumper, reaching her knees, over a green turtleneck shirt. Her red socks are trimmed with white lace. She wears her hair in a ponytail tied with a red satin ribbon bow. Momo is wearing a red dress with an empress waistline. The bodice was made out of crushed velvet; the skirt was made out of several layers of taffeta, while the waistline was marked by a satin ribbon tied in a bow behind her back. She too is wearing red socks trimmed in lace. Her hair is in her customary pigtails tied with white satin ribbon bows. The pair is completely engrossed in cutting up square pieces of paper into paper snowflakes. They create a humongous mess on the floor with the many schnitzels of paper that are cut away to form a piece of art. It's obvious that they've been at it for a while as numerous completed snowflakes litter the floor around them.

Camera moves across the room to focus on nine year old Ryuu. Ryuu is wearing a white, collared, long-sleeved dress shirt and white dress pants. He is standing on a stool, decorating the mantelpiece with candles and a small nativity scene. Ryousuke, dressed in green for a change, stood just behind him to prevent him from falling, but also helped by whispering quiet suggestions.

The camera's next view was of Ken and Shin. Ken wore a white polo shirt and green dress pants. Shin wore a green polo shirt and white slacks. They sat in a corner of the room and decorated stockings that would be hung for everyone. They are using fabric paint to write the names on each of the red velvet stockings, and personalizing them even more by adding a unique design of some sort to each of them. Once they finish, they would hand the stockings to Chizuko, who would then sew on a trim of white faux fur along the opening. As a result, her green, floor-length gown is littered with white faux hair that had fallen from the trim.

Kiri and Natsu are the camera's next focus. They too were decorating the room the room. They were presently on a pair of ladders and attaching pine needle garlands to the walls. The garlands were accented with red and white crushed velvet bows. Fujimaru is carefully watching over them from behind, his green glad arms hovering just behind the smalls of their backs. Kiri is wearing a white top with a holly pin over the left breast and a red skirt that brushed the top of her thighs. Her hair is held back by red barrettes and she is wearing dangling candy cane earrings. Natsu is wearing a set of crimson crushed velvet overalls over a red satin shirt. Her hair is back in a tight braid and tied with a red satin ribbon. Both are barefooted for their own safety.

Next, the camera moves to a kitchen setting where Kai and Tala are. Hysterical laughing, coming from Tala can be heard. Tala is wearing a short-sleeved white shirt and white slacks and is leaning against the counter in an effort to stay off the floor. His face is starting to turn red from lack of air. He was laughing at Kai. Kai—who is wearing a white tank top underneath an open, army-style short-sleeved jacket and white cargo pants, his face free of face paint—had obviously slipped and only caught himself after his nose fell in a bowl of red icing. Put together with the Santa hat Rei had put on his head earlier, and with his arms crossed as he glared at the end of his nose, it is little wonder why Tala was laughing. They were obviously decorating sugar cookies that had just come out of the oven.

Several flashes are seen from just off scene. Pictures have just been taken of Kai, Tala, and the two of them together.

Finally, the camera fades into a view of a house front. The ground and stairs are covered in snow, creating a nostalgic winter scene. It focuses on the door, which is decorated with a simple wreath. Standing directly in front of the house, arm in arm, are Yuri and Rei. Rei's arm is around Yuri's shoulders, while Yuri's arm is about Rei's waist.

Yuri is wearing a red dress with a bell-shaped skirt as well as long bell-shaped sleeves. There is a wide green ribbon tied in a huge bow behind her back, with the ends of the ribbon brushing the ground. Her white high heels peek out from underneath her skirt. She is also wearing a white shawl around her shoulders with her sable hair cascading down her back. Around her neck is a crushed velvet ribbon choker with a dangling silver snowflake charm.

Rei was wearing a green silk, collared, long-sleeved dress shirt tucked into his matching green slacks. His feet are covered with white dress shoes and his hair is held back by the same normal hair tie. He is wearing red fingerless gloves and a green bandana holds his bangs off his face.

"Happy holidays 2004," Rei says.

"From our family to yours," Yuriko continues.

Mr. Dickinson pops up and snaps several pictures of them before disappearing, supposedly going back into the house to take pictures of those inside.

"That man is WAY too camera happy," Yuri says once her vision clears, turning to go back into the house.

"Whose bright idea was it to give HIM a camera anyway?" Rei asks, rubbing his eyes lightly to clear the spots as he also turns to go in the house.

The camera fades to black, just as the door finishes closing behind the twins.

**THE END**

AN: So, like Rei and Yuri said, happy holidays from my family of characters, muses, and myself, to you. I might not see you again until 2005, but then again I might. Depends how fast I can get the next chapter out. After all, this is the beginning of new territory for me. I never wrote past chapter four of the fic…. Actually, I did, but I'm scrapping that chapter until later…. Too involved.

Please read and respond!

Love always,

Arlinya


	6. Following in the Footsteps of their Moth...

AN: As suggested by Tara Ivanhov, there will be a list and description of all of Rei's siblings at the beginning of every chapter. This one will be the most detailed because it includes rough personal translations of their names. Thank you all for your reviews and I hope you enjoy this chapter. For those of you who don't know, neko-jin means cat person and refers to the fact that Rei isn't entirely human.

Reiken (better known as Rei) – 16, going on 17, black hair to mid-thigh, gold cat eyes, oldest. First and middle name translate to 'victorious law of the sword.'

Yuriko (will just be called Yuri) – 16, going on 17, black hair to her knees, gold cat eyes, Rei's twin, younger by three hours. First and middle name translate to 'delicate child of the lotus.'

Natsuko (called Natsu) – 13, crimson hair to her waist and lavender cat eyes, third eldest single birth. First and middle name translate to 'beautiful flower of summer.'

Kentarou (called Ken) – 10, brown hair to ears (tiny bit messy), marine-blue cat eyes, fourth eldest, oldest triplet. First and middle name translate to 'sword of the eldest gold.' (modified from actual meaning: first born son of the sword of gold/big boy of gold b/c he ISN'T first born)

Kiriko (called Kiri) – 10, light blue hair brushing the bottom of her shoulder blades, sapphire blue cat eyes, fifth born/middle child, middle triplet. First and middle name translate to 'mist child of the plum (season).'

Shinryuu (called Shin) – 10, brown hair to ears (fairly messy), crystal blue cat eyes, sixth eldest, youngest triplet. First and middle name translate to 'heavenly heart of the dragon.'

Ryuuken (called Ryuu) – 9, deep violet hair in a traditional Japanese-style haircut, deep violet cat eyes, seventh Kong, single birth child. First and middle names translate to 'dragon sword of the stars.'

Aiko (called Ai) – five and a half, blonde hair brushing her shoulders, lilac cat eyes, eighth Kong, second youngest child, older twin. First and middle names translate to 'fragrant love child.'

Momoko (called Momo) – five and a half, light pink (think normal rose pink) hair brushing her shoulders and gold cat eyes, ninth/youngest Kong, younger twin. First and middle names translate to 'chaste peach child.'

Their last name, Kong, means glorious.

The servant names are all fairly common Japanese names. Chizuko's name, for me, translates to 'child of the den of intellect', but that may not be the actual and normal definition, as I also did with Kentarou (the suffix –tarou is only used for the firstborn male. The second-born male should truly have the suffix –jirou). Ryousuke's name translates to many things I'm sure, but I'm using the translation 'transparent road.' Fujimaru is probably the easiest translation name and translates to 'circle of wisteria' to me. Chizuko, Fujimaru, and Ryousuke are all in their late thirties/early forties, with black hair going grey and brown eyes. Basically, typical Japanese people (not an insult… normal gene pool consists of brown eyes and black hair).

NOW, on to the story… sorry it took so long, I HOPE it's shorter next time. Review responses at the bottom, of course.

Following in the Footsteps of Their Mother

It had almost been a week since Kai and Rei had arrived at the mansion. Rei had quickly settled in, breaking up petty squabbles and firmly enforcing house rules. It would be another two days before he could leave his wheelchair and start light activities. He was very much looking forward to it because it also meant he wouldn't trouble Kai anymore. Because Rei's arm was also immobilized, he couldn't push the wheelchair around on his own. The stoic team captain, without even being asked had taken to pushing Rei around and acting as Rei's legs. For Rei, this was both a blessing and a curse: a blessing because it meant that he could get around and spent time with Kai, but a curse because he felt he was imposing on Kai and was embarrassed by his dependence on others.

Unknown to Rei, Kai did so completely willingly and in an effort to simply spend time with the neko-jin. Kai was uncertain of himself in a house full of mostly pre-teens. After all, what did he know of how to deal with younger children? He was never given a chance to be himself at the abbey, having been treated like a miniature adult and forced to train almost eighteen hours a day. Because of this, he felt very much like the fifth wheel of a finely tuned car.

While Rei was too caught up in his embarrassment to notice how Kai felt, Yuri—standing on the outside of the situation—DID notice. She could understand why Kai felt like the fifth wheel. She did her best to make him feel welcome amongst them, talking to him when Rei was in the middle of something or even just smiling at him to try and bring him into the joke being shared. None of it really seemed to work and she figured it had to do with being trained to be unemotional.

In the end, the ones to make Kai feel comfortable within the family at all were the very ones he was most nervous around. Momo and Ai were relentless about including Kai in their everyday activities. They would drag their elder brother and Kai into whatever game they were playing, whether the pair was busy or not. Ai gravitated more towards her brother than Kai, but was more comfortable with both of them as opposed to any of her other siblings. The same was true for Momo, except she gravitated more towards Kai. It became a rather amusing sight: Momo would take any chance she could get to climb into Kai's lap. Kai would always freeze up, uncertain of her motives and what to do with himself. Rei would always laugh gently and tell him to put his arms around Momo, as he would for Ai.

Routine was not a word that could be used in the house, simply because there was never a set routine for anyone. Things were done as needed and not an instant before. The children rose any time between six and ten in the morning, and went to bed between six and twelve at night depending on their age and their exhaustion levels. Meals came when they were hungry and the rest of the day was spent as they pleased, though they rarely left the house. There was plenty to entertain them there already, they didn't want for anything after all.

But on that day, a phone call came for Yuri that changed the scheme of things a bit. Yuri had been secretive all week, so when Ryousuke had handed over the phone, Rei was extremely curious. It was a fairly short conversation, ending with Yuri hanging up with a smile. She then turned and hugged Rei tightly, though she was still careful of his injuries.

"We got it!" she kept saying in excitement. Rei was nonplussed, as was Kai. Kai became even more confused when Yuri hugged him as well, deftly avoiding Momo.

"Is it just me, or is your twin especially psychotic today?" Kai whispered, leaning over and whispering in Rei's ear once Yuri had released him. His warm breath caused Rei to shiver lightly. Kai took surprised notice of how Rei's cheeks became slightly flushed. As a result, he pulled back hastily, confused beyond belief, and blushing himself.

"Got what, sister mine?" Rei asked. He looked over at where she now was, on the other side of the room dancing in a circle. She kept spinning and spinning and spinning until she fell over from dizziness. Once she recovered, she answered Rei in a very giddy voice.

"The day you came home, Ai, Momo, and myself went to a modeling agency for a try out. That was them on the phone just now with the results. Ai, Momo, and I are going to follow in mama's footsteps. There's a photo shoot scheduled for next week Thursday." This was all said in a single breath, causing her to gasp for air once she was done.

"That's wonderful!" Rei replied. Kai was confused and looked curiously at Rei. Rei motioned that he would explain later. Kai nodded before focusing on Momo, who was starting to fall out of his lap, nearly asleep. At that moment, Chizuko came in and took both twins to put them down for their afternoon naps.

It was late evening before Rei had a chance to explain things to Kai. By that time, everyone else was asleep. The two of them were sitting on the couch, Rei having been moved there just after dinner by Ryousuke. After all, the seat of the wheelchair was hardly comfortable and sitting in it constantly would cause sores. Because of the need to eventually move him back to the wheelchair, Rei was in the middle of the couch while Kai sat in the corner.

"Mother was not a full neko-jin," Rei began to explain. "Great-grandfather was a diplomat to the outside world, sent here to Japan with his wife and daughter. As a result, grandmother was raised here in Japan, though still according to many of the traditions of our people. Grandmother went to college and ended up falling in love with a Japanese man from a very prestigious clan.

"They married and from their marriage, my mother was born. They named her Miyuu, beautiful dream, which she very much was. Since neko-jin are half cat and mother was half neko-jin, her dominant features were that of a human. But still, the cat features showed through in small ways. Her long sable hair was as soft as a kitten's fur. Sapphire eyes were slit, like a cat's. Her ears were pointier than any of ours, but it fit better with her delicate bone structure. Her finger nails were more like claws, able to grow out with a single thought.

"At the age of sixteen, mama was scouted by a small modeling agency and given a contract. Over the next two years, she became more and more popular to a point where she didn't even go to college. She focused entirely on modeling and photo shoots. Even later on, when she was pregnant with any of us, she was in high demand.

"By that time, the elders had replaced my mother's family as the diplomats with Lee's grandfather's family. Lee's grandfather had two children, a son and a daughter. Eventually, Xiefa, the daughter, would return to the clan and marry Lee's father. The son, Jiang, however was trained to replace his father as diplomat.

"Kong Jiang also went to college and took classes on investing. Because the diplomacy between a small clan of China and an entire country didn't take much time, Jiang spent the majority of his time investing in businesses and houses. He would fix up the houses and sell some of them. The rest were kept and rented out to families that could afford them. By the time he was thirty-one, he had over two hundred houses all around the world in varying communities and stock in almost every major company.

"Jiang met my mother when he was twenty-three. She was just nineteen. They began dating, being more comfortable with each other than others since both had family in the clan, despite growing up in a different world. Eventually, they married. Yuri and I were born two years later. After that, the children just kept coming. Not that mama and papa minded. Papa worked from home at that point, rarely leaving it and mama modeled all the time except the month directly before a birth in case there were complications.

"So Yuri is happy to follow in mama's footsteps. It's something to help us connect with her, you know? Ai and Momo never knew her so this is a way to learn for them." Rei finally finished.

"You said 'help us connect.' Does that mean you'll be modeling too?" Kai asked.

"Eventually, yes. There's no doubt in my mind that when they find out the two of us are twins and look so much like each other despite being different genders, they'll have a field day. They'll be able to do male and female versions of everything. I know Mama used to take us with her to the studios and such, so I'm used to it."

"What happened to them?" Kai asked softly, knowing that this could be a sensitive topic. Rei turned his head and gazed at the painting above the mantelpiece.

"As I told you the day we arrived, we were on an annual trip to China and mama was pregnant with Ai and Momo. Three days after our arrival, the antidote arrived and began to get administered. But at first, it was only the elderly and very young in order to guard those with weaker immune systems. Mama and papa, who had contracted minor versions of a similar illness in their youth in Japan, decided to forgo the antidote until the very end to give it to those who were not naturally immune to it a chance.

"By the time there was enough of an antidote for the entire village, it was too late. Papa had contracted the stronger version of the illness and died just as the last shipment came in. Mama was halfway through her pregnancy and had contracted a minor strain, luckily. However, it was enough to seriously affect a pregnant woman. She was exhausted and constantly ill for the rest of her pregnancy. The twins were born and she died a week later, all her resources having been spent on bringing the twins into this world. She chose to carry the twins to term rather than try to struggle to save herself.

"We were left alone, all nine of us, the youngest not even a month old, while the oldest—Yuri and myself—were all of eight and a half. No one in the village was willing to take even one of us. After all our parents had done for them over the years all we got was a cottage to ourselves, enough food, and supplies. We struggled for six years to survive and raise everyone else correctly, Yuri and I. After that, it became too much for me, especially when Lee started complaining when I got Drigger. I had to leave. Unfortunately, that left Yuri to raise them all alone. Now I'm back to the place that has always been home to me with real adults to help with the others. I only hope any damage we caused will be reversed in time."

"Damage!" Kai nearly shouted. "I've seen seventy-year-olds who were worse behaved than the twins! They adore you and love you and there is nothing wrong with them!"

"That you know of," was Rei's caustic reply. Kai glowered at the neko-jin and stood up abruptly. He leaned over Rei and continued to glower.

"You are being an idiot Kong," he whispered quietly, "as big of an idiot as the human garbage disposal. This will stop now. Do I make myself clear?" Rei didn't respond. Kai sighed and continued, "Fine. We'll leave it at this for now."

Without further warning, Kai picked Rei up and carried him upstairs. It was late enough for them to sleep and Kai immediately put Rei in his bed, refusing to listen to Rei's surprised and panicked orders to let him go. As he left through the connecting door, he called back to Rei, "Sleep Kong. Your family is coming over for dinner tomorrow." And with that, he shut off the lights and closed the door quietly.

AN: Sorry for the lateness of this chapter. I got restricted time on the computer shortly after Christmas…. Blame my family for that one guys. And I just finished my first week of spring semester. I got this written in a week or so, after finally being able to settle down and write it. Chapters may be two or three weeks apart now, after all, I'm in six college courses for 19 credits and half are heavy on the reading. Thank you for your responses and please continue to CONSTRUCTIVELY criticize my work. Ja ne!

Platinum Rei: thank you for your reviews and the compliment on my OCs, I hope that how I handle them will keep you liking them.

…: Thank you for the compliments. They are appreciated.

Fayalargo: when I said the figure came unnoticed into the room, I was using an omniscient point of view where the reader knows more than the characters. The reason I mentioned the figure beforehand was for timing references within the story. Besides, it's been done in professionally published stories and I'm trying, at the moment to model my writing style off of a conglomeration of writing styles.

EmI-cHaN aNd HeR 3 SpIrItS: I'm sorry if it was confusing. Give me specifics and I'll clear up what I can for you. I do want to leave some foreshadowing bits. Glad you liked it!

TNTiggris: Thank you… I came up with it myself…. It has a very special meaning. Randomness is good!

Krazykel: It's always enjoyable to read your reviews… They're always so light-hearted. Thank you for the advice about Quebec… If I ever go there, I'll try to remember it. I think your name is really cool. Glad I can provide you something to do in your spare time.

saFire flamE: thank you. Please keep reading.

Forfirith: The dark angel: I'm sorry again for the delay. Thank you for your review.

Mistskeeper: Thank you… as I've said before… You'll have to wait and see about him. However, I've been revamping the story in my mind since I actually started getting reviews and I am finding that things are going in a completely different direction than I intended. As you see, the twins and Yuri are important. Originally, Yuri was the only sibling of consequence. Ah well, its said that a story that takes on a life of its own (to a certain extent) is the best type of story. The characters are making themselves known to me and finding their place in the story.

Tara Ivanhov: Your request, as I'm sure you saw above, is granted. It's a very good idea. Wonder why I didn't think of it myself. It's a good thing I have loyal and willing reviewers to tell me when they want more explanation. Usagi is female, you'll meet her next chappie, I'm hoping. This is, like I said, part of a major AU sort of crossover, it's between a lot of anime. I'm hoping that when you read the next chapter you'll figure out significance of money, position in society, and people on your own. If not, please tell me and I'll try to elaborate a little. I do hope this started to explain the question you had about neko-jin. They're actually only three-quarter neko-jin and are, as a result, sort of outcaste from the clan in some ways. Yes I answered one of your questions, but I was very careful not to say which one. You'll just have to keep reading to find out. Call it an author's hook if you will.


	7. Family Dinners and Intriguing Cousins

AN: Heyla all! Sorry for the delay again… I know it's been over three weeks. I had a couple of papers and such to write. Come to think of it, I'm gonna be swamped w/ them all semester… Ah well… I should have more time around mid-March what with Spring Break coming up then. I've settled into the semester and intend to have much fun with all my classes: all but one are ones I could have a choice in. The last is a core class and any college student will tell you those types suck. I'm gonna get organized and hopefully be a little quicker with the chapters. Unfortunately, for this chapter, I got a minor case of writer's block. I'm over it now, I hope. Anywho! On with the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the Kong siblings other than Rei, the changes to the main plot that make this an AU, the servants, and my plot. STEALING ISN'T NICE, THEREFORE—DON'T DO IT! Have a nice day! (Kiriko waves from behind the chair)

Kong Siblings

Reiken (better known as Rei)—16 going on 17, black hair to mid-thigh, gold cat eyes, oldest, older twin to Yuri.

Yuriko (called Yuri)—16 going on 17, black hair to mid-thigh, gold cat eyes, second eldest, younger twin of Rei by three hours.

Natsuko (called Natsu)—13, crimson hair to waist, lavender cat eyes, third eldest, single child birth.

Kentarou (called Ken)—10, brown hair to ears (tiny bit messy), marine-blue cat eyes, fourth eldest, oldest triplet.

Kiriko (called Kiri)—10, light blue hair brushing the bottom of her shoulder blades, sapphire-blue cat eyes, fifth born/middle child, middle triplet, younger than Ken by two and a half hours.

Shinryuu (called Shin)—10, brown hair to ears (fairly messy), crystal-blue cat eyes, sixth eldest, youngest triplet, younger than Kiri by thirty minutes.

Ryuuken (called Ryuu)—9, deep violet hair in a traditional Japanese-style haircut, deep violet cat eyes, seventh Kong, single child birth

Aiko (called Ai)—five and a half, blonde hair brushing her shoulders, lilac cat eyes, eighth Kong, second youngest child, older twin.

Momoko (called Momo)—five and a half, light pink (think rose pink) hair brushing her shoulders, gold cat eyes, ninth/youngest Kong, younger twin, younger than Ai by one hour.

Family Dinners and Intriguing Cousins

The following afternoon, everyone was dressed up. The three adults wore formal white uniforms—tuxedos for the men and a long dress for Chizuko. The boys wore the same style of clothing Rei normally did except in different colors: Ryuu wore a combination of deep violet and a slightly lighter shade of violet, Shin wore Prussian blue and ice blue, Ken wore brown and white, Rei wore his black and dark grey outfit from the flight over (cleaned of course). The girls were a little more diverse in their clothing: Momo wore a pink Mandarin-style top that matched her hair and white Chinese pants and slippers, Ai wore the same outfit in red and gold, Kiri wore a sea blue cheongsam with a slit up to her knees on both sides, Natsu wore a lavender cheongsam in a matching style, Yuri wore an outfit identical to Rei's but with white where his clothes were black and silver where his was smoke gray. Also, the tigers on Yuriko's outfit were switched: silver and ruby tiger on the front, gold and emerald on the back. Kai wore his gray cargos, blue tank top, nice black army jacket with long sleeves, black boots, his traditional white scarf, and fingerless gray gloves. He didn't have on his face paint or arm guards, deeming them pointless and inappropriate.

They were all sitting in the living room comfortably, waiting for their guests to arrive. Most were reading or playing quiet games while Chizuko and Ryousuke worked on some last minute additions to the upcoming arrival. Fujimaru was picking the guests up in order to save time and cause less problems for everyone.

At that moment, the door to the living room opened and Fujimaru ushered in a family of four. The first to enter was a man with short brown hair, glasses lightly obscuring brown eyes, and a small smile on his face. He carried a camera and notepad in a bag slung over his shoulders, showing that he worked as a photographer and journalist for the newspaper. Behind him came his wife, a woman with long, curly violet hair and dark blue eyes. She wore an apron over her dress as if it was the most natural thing in the world, which it probably was for her. She was followed by a boy around Natsu's age who had sandy blond hair and blue eyes. But it was the last person to enter the room who caught the attention of the Kongs and Kai. She was a teenager the same age as Rei, Kai, and Yuri. She had long golden blonde hair tied up in very unique buns with hair still nearly brushing the ground. Her blue eyes, similar to both her mother's and brother's, appeared old. Kai was quite surprised when the girl appeared to trip over a speck of dust and land face down in the carpet. No one else was really surprised, though only her immediate family sighed in annoyance.

"Kai, allow me to introduce the ones legally responsible for watching us. These are Tsukino Kenji, his wife Tsukino Ikuko nee Aino, his youngest child Tsukino Samuel Shingo, and his eldest child Tsukino Serenity Usagi. Kenji-jisan, Ikuko-basan, Shingo-kun, Usagi-chan, this is Hiwatari Kai, our family's newest stray," Rei said, introducing everyone. He was smacked lightly on the head and glared at by Kai for his last comment. The adults smiled and nodded at him in greeting: Kenji with a distracted grin and Ikuko with a warm and motherly one. Shingo, who preferred to be called Sam, bowed, having kept up with Beyblading and knowing who Kai was. Usagi or, as she preferred to be called, Sere scrutinized him closely.

Kai grew uncomfortable after a few minutes under Sere's unnerving scrutiny. He felt like his very soul could be seen by her piercing gaze. Rei, who was again seated near his former team captain, noticed the stiffening of the shoulders and turned to glare at his most beloved of cousins. She merely smirked at him before starting to speak.

"Welcome to the family Kai-kun. As far as I'm concerned, you're a full member with all benefits." Rei and Yuri both looked at Sere in surprise at that comment. FULL membership? Most strays never got further than Kai was now… But if Sere truly felt that Kai was worthy of the honor, the others would follow her lead. The parents merely looked curiously at their daughter.

After that, everyone sat down and chatted. The majority of the discussion was on the lives of both families over the last eight years. Throughout all of this, Kai kept eyeing Sere in confusion. Why did he sense a great deal of power coming from her? She looked innocent enough, far more innocent than even Momo in a lot of ways.

As he observed her, Kai noticed a soft glow occasionally emitting from her forehead. Upon closer inspection, he recognized the glow taking on the form of several very distinct, very different symbols. One a golden crescent moon, another an amber symbol of the sun (circle with a dot in the middle), the last was unrecognizable as anything ordinary, but appeared to be a sapphire "Y" with the center replaced by a tiny circle. No one else seemed to notice it, as if she veiled such an occurrence from their sight.

While he watched her, Sere observed the newest family member unobtrusively. There were distinct advantages to being thought of as simple and clumsy by her parents. The attitude she portrayed was completely false, but she'd been playing at it for her entire life, causing people to constantly underestimate her. She used the acting to her advantage, fooling even her foster-brother and the most observant of her cousins. However, when she noticed Kai looking at her forehead in surprise and confusion, she knew there was more to Kai than even he knew.

With this realization, Sere drew the boy into a conversation. He was reticent about his past, something she could entirely understand, given how Rei was practically bristling at any mention of it. Resolving that it would be foolish to press the matter with Kai himself, she decided to ask Rei about it later that night. She changed the subject to what Kai did now, his likes and dislikes, surprised by some of his answers.

Kai surprised himself by being completely open with Sere, telling her things he didn't even admit to himself. Granted, he kept such things like his past and his feelings for Rei well hidden, but that was more out of a wish not to focus on them. He didn't understand what about Sere made him feel so comfortable, or even why she was asking such unusual questions such as "do you enjoy martial arts that deal with aerial maneuvers?" He merely answered the question, noting how Yuri and Rei both smiled at the mention of the previous question and his response of "Yes, he supposed he did."

Things carried on that way for quite some time. By the time dinner was called, three distinct groups had been formed out of the original group of seventeen. The first group, the five adults, had removed themselves to the dining room and kitchens in order to better allow the children free reign in their discussions. What they talked about most frequently was education in regards to the Kongs and Kai. It was the firm belief of all that they would benefit more from private tutors. Kenji promised to put out an ad looking for a few. Ikuko swore that if summer ended before they had found enough, she would take the job herself. In response to this, Chizuko promised to take over cleaning duties and such for Ikuko, should that occur.

The second group, and the largest, consisted of the majority of the children: Sam and all of the Kongs except Yuri, Rei, and Momo. The group had settled down and was playing Monopoly (AN: I don't own). Ai was sitting between Natsu and Sam, learning how to play and watching the others as they raced around the board. Presently, it was little Kiriko who was winning, surprising everyone by how cut-throat she could be in regards to finances. They were gathered around the coffee table: play money, board, cards, and figurines taking up the entirety of it.

Kai, Rei, Yuri, Sere, and Momo made up the last group. Momo had started out by watching the others play Monopoly, but had presently become too confused with the game to continue watching it. In the end, she left the game and crawled into Kai's lap, settling in comfortably as his arms came around her automatically as he continued talking with her cousin Sere. Yuri and Rei would often ask questions themselves to Sere which would receive very long replies.

Momo was very happy now. You see, she regarded Kai as another older brother. Young as she was, she noticed how much Kai cared for her aniue. For Momo, that would have been enough on its own, but she knew that he was a very kind person. He was just badly hurt on the inside. She felt safe with him, even when he was extremely grumpy. Curling up in his lap was one of the ways she showed her affection for him. She wasn't feeling well today, though she didn't tell Rei or Yuri. They were busy getting ready for cousin Sere's visit and she didn't want to worry them needlessly. Besides, she was only a little tired and achy, she'd be over it in no time.

"DINNER!" Chizuko called. Everyone immediately stopped what they were doing and arranged themselves around the table. Rei and Yuri sat next to each other, Rei at the head of the table as the eldest in the family, Yuri on his right side. Kai took the seat on Rei's left automatically, causing Sere's eyebrows to shoot up as she giggled. Kai had carried Momo to the table and seated her next to him.

The rest of the evening followed in the same vein. The dinner was wonderful, as usual. Chizuko garnered many compliments from the Tsukino family about the food. Her only response was a small blush, spurred on by the comments of her own charges. Shortly after dinner was over, the Tsukinos left, returning home. Sam had soccer practice early the next morning and Kenji had work, of course. Ikuko planned to do some shopping and the usual house chores. Sere had promised her friends that she would come over for a sleepover and she still had to get some things together and get there before ten.

It wasn't long after they had left before the youngest twins were getting ready for bed. Momo clung so tightly to Kai that he was actually forced to take her upstairs, change her into some nightclothes, and tuck her into bed himself. Ai was taken care of by Ryousuke, since Chizuko was still working in the kitchen.

Even Yuri and Kai went to bed early that night. Rei, in his final day in the wheelchair, had decided that extra rest wouldn't kill him and had gone to bed shortly after the twins. That night, everyone slept soundly.

The following morning, Rei woke to a gentle knocking on the connecting door to Kai's room. He sat up groggily, rubbing his eyes gently to chase the last remnants of sleep away. Shortly after that, Kai entered, closing the door behind him.

"I really should lock that," Rei said resignedly. He loved the idea of Kai being able to enter his room at any time, but he thought it would be too much for him to hope for.

"Don't," was all Kai said. Rei looked up at him in surprise. Kai once again used his stoic expression to hide his feelings. He was actually thankful for the face paint, which helped him to further distance himself from his emotions.

"It's time to get up now and it's the first day you can go without the wheelchair," Kai continued. Rei smiled as he remembered that fact, pushing the covers down so that he could escape their grasp. Slowly, he moved until he was sitting on the edge of the bed. He started standing slowly, pushing against the bed while keeping most of his weight on his hands.

Just as Rei switched his full weight onto his feet and released the bed, he collapsed. His legs, now a full month unused, could no longer tolerate the weight of his full body. He was heading for the ground, unable to catch himself on the bed.

"Oh," he cried softly, eyes closed. He felt a pair of strong arms encase his waist and opened his eyes to see his team captain and secret crush looking down at him, concern evident in his eyes. Rei rested his head against Kai's chest, sighing softly in disappointment.

"Take it slower, Rei," Kai said, pulling him up into a steady position. "Here. Lean on me until your legs are capable of taking the pressure." With that, Kai started walking backwards slowly, forcing Rei to walk as well, with most of his weight still in Kai's arms.

The rest of the day continued like that. When Chizuko, Ryousuke, and Yuri saw how weak Rei was on his feet, they arbitrarily ordered Kai to make sure he didn't strain himself. Kai merely glared at them, silently saying 'What did you THINK I was doing?' Yuri just rolled her eyes at this and smacked her brother lightly for being such an idiot as to risk straining himself his first day out of the dratted contraption. Ryousuke set up an area on the living room floor where Rei could lounge comfortably. Chizuko smiled at the pair whenever she passed by them and brought their meals to them all day.

Although Ai could be seen bouncing about the room all day at the fact that her brother could walk again, Momo stayed very close to the pair. In fact, she cuddled up against Kai and slept most of the day away, causing both bladers to worry about the young girl.

AN: I would like to thank all of my readers for their patience in waiting for this chapter to come out. I truly appreciate not receiving any flames or orders to hurry up over the last month. I know I'm probably losing a lot of readers with the time I take between chapters, but I'm really just writing for the fun of it and to get Kiriko off my back. Which reminds me….(turns to Kiriko) WHAT THE HFIL DID YOU MAKE ME WRITE IN THIS CHAPTER! There are a hell of a lot of funky plot twists in this chapter that I didn't expect and now I don't know what to do with them! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! (turns back to audience, ignoring a giggling Kiriko) Turns out that the writer's block caused my dear _bungei-gakujutsu no megami-chan_ to give me some damn funky ideas that just flowed through my fingers without my awareness. I thought I'd gotten the plot back on track, but now I just got thrown off again. I was surprised by some of the things I wrote… and I usually require knowledge of what I write before hand.

Japanese words: the reason the last names come first in the introductions are because that's how it's done in Japan—family name, and THEN personal name—and since I'm trying to stay true to Japanese culture as much as possible, the names are listed appropriately. kun is a term of reference to a person usually used with males that you are close to, in this situation, it refers to the fact that they are treating each other like family, far less formal than san. Aniue is a very formal way of saying older brother, literally means "brother above" used in this case to distinguish Rei from his other three brothers as the oldest and father-figure.

Review Responses—

…: thank you again for your compliment. All it happens to be is my twisted imagination and my muse beating me over the head to keep writing. As unassuming as Kiriko is, she'll still badger me to write. Sorry for the lateness.

MyStIc BlAcK PhOeNiX: I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thank you and I hope the list Tara requested helps you.

Forfirith The dark angel: Thank you for your comments. I hope this chapter was also worth the wait. And I don't think it's that original, after all, I just twisted the situation to the opposite of such writers as Ladya C. Maxine.

Kittyluv: thank you.

Krazykel: I'm sorry to hear you had such a rotten V-day. Sorry for the wait and thank you for your compliments to my writing style. I greatly appreciate that someone has found my writing style nice. And its only 6 classes. But college can occasionally make those 6 classes seem like 15.

Mistskeeper: It's not that I mind you bugging me about Tala-sama, I'm just trying to build the suspense for what's to come. And its happened again, as you saw above. Heaven alone knows where Kiriko-chan will take this story. As to why Rei says they're damaged… that'll take a while to come to light. Thank you for the compliments, they really help me write. Military? Really? Good luck with whatever you've been assigned to do. I know I have a friend in military whose been having a bit of a hard time. And just cause you're in the military doesn't mean you're dumb. Hope you enjoyed this and sorry for the wait, my most loyal and eldest reviewer.


	8. A Possible Problem aka The Reason for th...

AN: Well, I enjoyed my spring break… didn't really get anything productive done, but I did catch up on my sleep. Here's another chapter, hope you enjoy. You know the deal by now: review responses at the end. Over break I acquired a new muse. You might just see her around. Also, I'm sorry this didn't come out till now, but I had a research paper to write as my final. For those of you who don't know… school comes first, writing fanfics second. So this has been put off until I managed to recover from writing 15 pages on art during the mid-1800s. Also, once school ended, I had to get used to living at home again.

Disclaimer: I own plot, the fact that this is a multiverse crossover, all Kong siblings EXCEPT Rei, the servants, and the idea behind the house. Other than that, the characters belong to their individual anime.

Kong Siblings

Reiken Shing(better known as Rei)—16 going on 17, black hair to mid-thigh, gold cat eyes, oldest, older twin to Yuri.

Yuriko Ling(called Yuri)—16 going on 17, black hair to mid-thigh, gold cat eyes, second eldest, younger twin of Rei by three hours.

Natsuko Meiying(called Natsu)—13, crimson hair to waist, lavender cat eyes, third eldest, single child birth.

Kentarou Jin(called Ken)—10, brown hair to ears (tiny bit messy), marine-blue cat eyes, fourth eldest, oldest triplet.

Kiriko Lee(called Kiri)—10, light blue hair brushing the bottom of her shoulder blades, sapphire-blue cat eyes, fifth born/middle child, middle triplet, younger than Ken by two and a half hours.

Shinryuu Tien(called Shin)—10, brown hair to ears (fairly messy), crystal-blue cat eyes, sixth eldest, youngest triplet, younger than Kiri by thirty minutes.

Ryuuken Sying(called Ryuu)—9, deep violet hair in a traditional Japanese-style haircut, deep violet cat eyes, seventh Kong, single child birth

Aiko Xiang(called Ai)—five and a half, blonde hair brushing her shoulders, lilac cat eyes, eighth Kong, second youngest child, older twin.

Momoko Zhen(called Momo)—five and a half, light pink (think rose pink) hair brushing her shoulders, gold cat eyes, ninth/youngest Kong, younger twin, younger than Ai by one hour.

A Possible Problem

_How blind can people be?_ Yuri thought, watching Kai and her beloved twin interact. _I love Rei to death, but really! It's SO obvious!_

_And really, I'm rather glad Sere made Kai a part of the family when she did. It saves troubles later on._ She snorted softly. _Who'd have thought that, in the years my brother punished himself for failing the twins, he would find love in a man even more badly injured than himself._

With that, Yuri stood up and walked towards the group sitting in the middle of the living room. It was evening now and Momo had started dozing. _Odd. Momo usually tries even harder than Ai when it comes to staying up as long as possible. I wonder… Well, we'll give it a couple of days and see._

"Yuri? Doushitano?" Rei asked, looking at his twin inquisitively.

"Hmm?" she asked, still lost in thought, staring straight at him the entire time.

"What's wrong?" Rei asked again.

"Nothing. Just thinking," was her reply.

"Alright. Bedtime for the twins?" he asked, noticing Momo at last and that she was basically asleep in Kai's lap. Yuri nodded, grabbing Ai as she ran by. Kai stood up, holding Momo, while keeping an eye on Rei.

When Rei began to try standing up, Kai said, "No." At the curious looks he was being given, he continued, "I'll come back down in a bit. You're still exhausted from earlier." Rei reluctantly nodded, reclining back into the pile of pillows behind him.

Kai followed Yuri and Ai up to the twins' room. Because the two were still so young, it was easier if they shared a room rather than having separate rooms like all the other people in the house. For the moment, they did have a connecting doorway into a playroom specially decorated and furnished for them. The walls were a lilac so pale it almost looked pink. Both of the beds were decorated in the same style, though in different colors. Ai's bed was done in soft lilacs and creams to match her eyes. Momo's bed—on the opposite side of the room—was done in pale pinks and creams to match her hair.

Kai turned down the covers on Momo's bed and slipped his charge underneath. He then pulled the covers back over her and tucked her in gently—belying his normally tough exterior. He didn't notice that Yuri watched him carefully out of the corner of her eye as she did the same for Ai.

_He really is quite gentle. I know the tournament supposedly portrayed him as cold and that his own teammate Tyson often complained about him. But, Shing TRUSTS him. And Shing never gives that lightly. What could make someone seem so cold?_ Yuri thought as she followed Kai out of the room.

"Kai-kun," she started, just as they reached the stairs back down to the first floor, "I know your childhood was hard, but Reiken won't tell me anything. What happened to make you into someone so reserved?" Her question caught him by surprise. He turned and looked at her.

"What?" he asked.

"I've watched you, Kai. You act cold, but underneath, there's a very passionate person who just doesn't know how to interact with others. Who did this to you and how? But, most importantly, why?"

Kai glared at her. "Don't bother," she said, "I'm immune to both glares and puppy eyes after raising my family."

"It's none of your business!" Kai bit out.

"Maybe it isn't. But you are my brother's FRIEND. More than that, you've become a part of this family and I want to help you!"

Kai merely grunted, turning and continuing down the stairs. "Don't bother. Concentrate on your family. I'll worry about myself AND Rei." His answer caused Yuri to blink before sighing and heading off to her own room to prepare for bed.

When Kai got downstairs, he saw Rei standing unsteadily in the middle of the room. Rei smiled at his captain and walked over to the couch, next to the room's phone. Kai raised an eyebrow in question at his teammate and friend.

"We have to call Mr. Dickinson. It's been almost a week," Rei gently reminded him. Kai nodded, taking a seat on the floor in front of Rei, in between Rei's legs, and with his back resting against the couch.

Rei dialed a phone number he had memorized before the airplane ride and waited for someone to pick up.

"Ah, hello. This is Rei Kon," Rei said in English when someone picked up. "Yes, that's right. I'll wait, thank you."

"Hi Mr. Dickinson. Yes, we made it safely and are perfectly fine. I just stopped using the wheelchair today. Of course, he's right here. Yes, sir, here you go." Rei turned to Kai, holding out the phone. "Mr. Dickinson wants to talk to you Kai."

"What?" Kai asked brusquely of the man who had formed their team. "I'm fine. Yes. No. Why would I? I can get along with Rei. Fine." Kai handed the phone back to Rei.

"No, no problems. Of course. Yes, sir. Bye."

"Kai, he said that Voltaire got out on bail," Rei said, fear in his voice.

"Not surprising. He had a lot of money from his other…LEGITIMATE businesses. We'll just have to be careful when we go out. Since he doesn't know about the rest of your family, we'll just have to be careful not to be seen with them too much out of the house. Tell Yuri to keep a low profile and her hair covered as much as possible and wear sunglasses outside of the house," Kai replied.

"Why would I do that?" Yuri asked from the doorway. She'd caught the last sentence of Kai's speech.

"Kai's grandfather, damn the man, is out of jail," Rei replied.

"What is so dangerous about that?" Her eyes narrowed. "Tell me everything. NOW Shing."

Rei sighed before saying, "Basically, Voltaire's really screwed up. He took in a bunch of orphans and along with Kai, trained them in a way that was quite abusive in an Abbey. It boils down to ALL types of abuse and illegal testing on some of the children. That includes turning one of them into a cyborg. He's after the Kami Bit Beasts. He almost got them at the tournament, which is the reason the Bladebreakers formed, but now that he's out of jail, he may try to take advantage of the time and come for his grandson and the rest of the team again."

"After the Kami Bit Beasts? Then why…?" she asked, suddenly beginning to fiddle with a chain around her neck.

"Most of the world doesn't know. That's what got me so injured in the last competition. And why Drigger isn't with me right now." Rei replied quickly. Yuri smiled.

"He's fine." She pulled out the necklace and showed the two of them a Bit clipped onto the chain. On the Bit were two tigers, comfortably twined around each other. One was obviously Drigger which caused Rei to sigh in relief. The other tiger was slightly smaller and done in silver, red, and white as opposed to Drigger's gold, green, and white.

"You have a Bit Beast too?" Kai asked, instinctively knowing that the other tiger was hers.

"Yes, Byakkou no Lrigger. She's Drigger's twin, just like I'm Rei's. Byakkou no Drigger came here when he left the battle, seeking a place where he could safely recover. So yes, I do have a Kami Bit Beast." Kai smirked.

"I just had an idea," he said. "Can you blade well?" he asked Yuri.

"Yes. I'm as good as Rei. Why?"

"IF my grandfather tries to come for us, Rei's not in any condition to fight. I'm guessing if that happens, the team will be reformed. The Kami Bit Beasts have to be WON in a battle. Since Drigger came to you and you ARE twins, I'm guessing you both can use either Bit Beast." They nodded, surprised at his deduction.

"If it comes to that fight, we'll need another team member to take Rei's place." Rei interrupted, figuring out what Kai was thinking of.

"You want HER to be that replacement. Using Drigger as her Bit Beast to further throw off whatever opponents we face. So if we keep her identity secret, especially if no one knows there's someone who looks like me… other than in advertisements, which can be manipulated on the computer anyway… if we keep her hair and eyes covered and have her wear a robe or something over her clothes…" Yuri's eyes widened.

"They'll never know what hit them!" she continued, having finally caught on. "No one will expect ANOTHER Kami Bit Beast or that someone else on the team can use Drigger. They'll be confused. That's perfect!"

"Exactly," Kai said, a satisfied smile twitching at the corners of his mouth. Rei smiled in relief at that smile, relaxing back into the sofa cushions. Yuri smiled mischievously, agreeing quickly to taking to wearing only non-Chinese style clothes, and covering her hair with a shawl and wearing sunglasses outside of the house. The other Kong siblings and the servants would be told to make sure that they didn't make some sort of faux-pas and ruin it.

Plans were made for Kai to work with Yuri and improve her techniques in battle, as well as in using Drigger in such a way that it would appear to be Rei's style. After all, he'd had the entire season to observe Rei's style and would be able to teach it to Yuri quickly.

They also discussed how much Rei would be allowed to do of his kata. It was decided that until he was more stable on his feet and was stronger, he would stick with the Tai-chi forms. As for the rest of his kata, they would be brought in slowly as his strength and health returned. Only once his body had fully healed by Sere's tough standards would he be allowed to include the weapons.

The weekend rolled around quickly, and the family had a picnic in the back yard. Everyone, even Kai, was dressed in loose, comfortable, and well-worn clothes. Chizuko kept an eye on the food, making sure no one took any before lunch time while Ryousuke and Fujimaru both kept an eye out for problems with the younger children.

Rei practiced the simpler of the Tai-chi kata under Kai and Yuri's watchful eyes. He did them much more slowly than even was considered normal for the forms, testament to how weak he really was. His arm was still immobilized though and that was accounted for in their evaluations. After only three kata, Rei was forced to sit down out of exhaustion on the porch, which was where they were sitting for the moment until the ideal picnic spot had been found.

After a rest, during which Ai and Momo joined them for some card games, Rei again stood, slowly following the running twins who were ready to play on the swing attached to the old sakura tree nearby. It was a bench swing, with enough room for two adults to sit on meaning that Ai and Momo could easily have slid around on it had Rei pushed it from behind. As it was, he sat in between them on the swing and pushed with his legs, resting whenever the pain became too much for him. He listened as the girls chattered at him about things, including how life had been during the last remnants of their time in China.

The day was idyllic, and the entire Kong family took advantage of the weather and enjoyed themselves. Even Kai enjoyed himself at the picnic, smiling often, especially when Kiriko fell into the fountain.

Things followed this pattern for the rest of the week. It was almost as though the world outside of the house did not exist any longer. However, Kai never allowed himself to forget the troubles his grandfather was likely causing. Whenever Yuri had a free moment from dealing with the younger children, he would drag her over to the dish and train her as hard as possible. Sometimes, Rei would take over a situation, just to ensure that Yuri got the training she needed.

And then, it was Thursday morning.

AN: Giggles Well, that chapter went well, once I got it started. I got to this point a lot faster than I thought I would. From here on out, there's danger in the air surrounding every trip outside of the mansion. The evil has been found and it wears a familiar face. Maybe one a little too familiar? We'll see. I hope this was worth the wait. Review and tell me how you liked it.

Tammy: I'm glad you like it. Sorry for the delay.

MyStIc BlAcK PhOeNix: thank you. And I will.

Forfirith The dark angel: Well, for Momo, you're just going to have to wait and see. We'll see about Sere… She's not an OC, but I still want to keep her involvement to a minimum… There should still be several appearances by her none the less. And thank you.

Kittyluv: I'm glad you like the twins. They're definitely little angels. And I know what you mean. I only have one sibling and we fight constantly. I thought it was fitting for Rei's aura of responsibility and maturity.

Krazykel: thank you. I very thoroughly enjoyed it… though it wasn't really productive at all.

saFire flame: Thank you. I'm glad you like to know the details because so do I and I try to cater towards that. If I ever leave out something you're interested in, let me know and I might just try and include it.

Tntiggris: actually, neither do I. Kiriko wrote that part and I'm STILL trying to figure it out and it's been several months now. Ah well… It shall become clear to me in time.

Mistskeeper: bows deeply thank you. I am greatly honored. Ouch. Moving base? That sucks. Though my friend is really anxious to come home now. I hope you come to enjoybeing overseas…. From what I understand it's quite the honor. You'll see what I meant by "full benefits" though not for a while. And there's a reason for the door… I think. Kiriko wasn't too clear on that and my newest muse is just interested in exploring my library. I enjoy your long reviews, they give me a lot of hope and smiles. And you always say something interesting. Like the fact that you're the only one of my reviewers to even comment that the cousins seem familiar. I said in the beginning that this was part of a multi-verse fic. That hasn't changed. The truth is… whispers Sere, Sam, and the ENTIRE Tsukino family are from Sailor Moon. I have her as the center of this crazy 'verse and there's a specific reason for it that probably won't appear in this fic. She's sorta borderline Mary-Sue-ish in my mind. But that's for another time.

By the way, to all of my readers: I noticed many discrepancies in previous chapters of my story that should have been fixed before they were posted. As a result… the chapters… other than the holiday special… have all been fixed and re-uploaded. Minor changes, but plot holes have been covered. Enjoy and again, review please. It helps me learn to write.


	9. Photo Shoots

AN: Another new chapter. I hope the cliff-hanger had you interested in this coming out quickly. Enjoy and please review: it helps me get better.

Disclaimer: Do I really need to keep doing this? By now you should know that this is just a story using characters from a series that I really like with changes made to fit my ideal. I won't be writing Disclaimers every chapter now… I expect you to have it all figured out. Maybe every three chapters.

Kong Siblings

Reiken Shing(better known as Rei)—16 going on 17, black hair to mid-thigh, gold cat eyes, oldest, older twin to Yuri.

Yuriko Ling(called Yuri)—16 going on 17, black hair to mid-thigh, gold cat eyes, second eldest, younger twin of Rei by three hours.

Natsuko Meiying(called Natsu)—13, crimson hair to waist, lavender cat eyes, third eldest, single child birth.

Kentarou Jin(called Ken)—10, brown hair to ears (tiny bit messy), marine-blue cat eyes, fourth eldest, oldest triplet.

Kiriko Lee(called Kiri)—10, light blue hair brushing the bottom of her shoulder blades, sapphire-blue cat eyes, fifth born/middle child, middle triplet, younger than Ken by two and a half hours.

Shinryuu Tien(called Shin)—10, brown hair to ears (fairly messy), crystal-blue cat eyes, sixth eldest, youngest triplet, younger than Kiri by thirty minutes.

Ryuuken Sying(called Ryuu)—9, deep violet hair in a traditional Japanese-style haircut, deep violet cat eyes, seventh Kong, single child birth

Aiko Xiang(called Ai)—five and a half, blonde hair brushing her shoulders, lilac cat eyes, eighth Kong, second youngest child, older twin.

Momoko Zhen(called Momo)—five and a half, light pink (think rose pink) hair brushing her shoulders, gold cat eyes, ninth/youngest Kong, younger twin, younger than Ai by one hour.

Photo Shoots

On Thursday morning, the house was far more active than normal. Ai was bouncing around like she was on a sugar high in her excitement over the photo shoot later that day. Momo was looking slightly pale but when Yuri, Rei, and Chizuko put the back of their hands against her forehead, she didn't have any sign of a fever. She still curled up in Kai's lap and refused to leave no matter what, forcing the stoic blader to carry her everywhere.

Natsu, Ken, Shin, Ryuu, and Kiri would be going to spend the day with Sere. Since Sere was out of school for the summer, she had the time to personally help them with martial arts and bringing them up to speed on what they should have already learned. Since Sere's summer house was very close by, they would be dropped off first. They were all wearing uniforms to train in.

Natsu's consisted of a maroon gi top and bottom over a white shirt and tied with a white cloth belt. Her hair was pulled into a high ponytail and tied around the elastic band was a white ribbon. Ken wore a blue haori and white hakama over a blue shirt. The blue of his uniform was a dark blue that complimented his eyes. He also wore a headband in white to keep the hair away from his eyes. Shin also wore a haori and hakama over a shirt. However, Shin's haori and shirt were sky blue while his hakama was light gray. His headband was light gray and thicker than Ken's.

Kiri wore a white gi top and bottom over a black shirt and tied with a black cloth belt. Her hair was pulled into a low ponytail tied with a sea-green ribbon. Ryuu wore a black gi over a violet shirt and tied with a violet cloth belt. Since his hair was short, he didn't wear a headband, but instead wore wrist guards in violet. All five wore tabi and would put on geta instead of shoes when leaving the house.

In accordance with their plans, Yuri was not wearing traditional Chinese clothes. She was actually wearing a fashionable outfit of the Western style. Her short-sleeved shirt was tight, but not too tight, showing off her curves without being slutty. It was a soft cream color that wouldn't draw undue attention. Over this, she wore a black jean jacket with numerous pockets. She also wore a gray cotton pleated skirt that reached her knees. Instead of slip on shoes, she would put on a pair of strappy heels that gave her a bit of height and had been bought only the week before. Her hair was braided and wrapped around her hair, pinned down so that she could hide it beneath a wide-brimmed straw hat she was holding in her hands. At the moment, a pair of dark sunglasses perched on top of her hair.

Ai was dressed in a lavender short-sleeved shirt and white and purple plaid skirt. She would put black mary-janes over her lavender socks which complimented a thick lavender ribbon holding her hair away from her face.

Momo wore a butter yellow short-sleeved shirt and rose pink pants. She wore butter yellow socks which would be covered by her white tennis shoes. Her hair was done in the same style as Ai's but with a butter yellow ribbon instead of lavender.

Rei and Kai decided to accompany them and were dressed traditionally. If they were seen, it would be assumed by anyone who didn't know the truth that they were two separate groups. After all, with the Bladebreakers being world champions, it would be assumed that photo shoots would be necessary to maintain their image.

The car ride was uneventful. The limousine was large enough to fit all ten of them without problems. That was, in fact, the guiding principle behind using a limo instead of a van. When they stopped to drop off the middle children, they stopped in front of a mansion approximately the same size as their own. However, this one was on the outskirts of town. Kiri, Natsu, Ken, Shin, and Ryuu all climbed out and wished their sisters luck. They ran quickly to the door from the gate and disappeared into the house.

When they arrived at the studio, Fujimaru pulled into the driveway to drop them off, to further the illusion of two separate groups. They took the elevator to the ground floor and entered the building secretly. Yuri kept her hat and sunglasses on the entire time, even though it looked a bit odd. They received several strange looks from the guards but were allowed to pass none the less.

"And you are?" asked the desk clerk.

"Kong Yuriko and family," Yuri replied, removing her glasses. The desk clerk nodded and indicated the seats nearby.

"I will inform them that you have arrived. Please remain seated until that time."

Rei looked around, avidly curious as to the quality of the company. "Well, it looks respectable and completely clean," he finally said.

"This was the company mama worked for last. From what Chizuko says, it's also the most respectable of the companies now," Yuri replied. Momo curled up again in Kai's lap, burying her head in his tank top. Ai was clinging only slightly to Yuri, more nervous than anything else. Kai glared at anyone who looked his way, worried about Momo.

"Momo? What's wrong?" Rei asked softly in Mandarin. Momo merely shook her head. Kai glared furiously at a pompous man walking towards them with a superior look on his face. When the man paid no attention to him and continued towards them, his glare intensified further and he pulled Momo even closer.

"Kong Yuriko and family," the man said haughtily, "you will follow me to the back." Raising eyebrows, the trio of sixteen year olds stood and followed the man. Yuri lifted Ai up and carried her on one hip while Kai used a single arm to hold Momo in case Rei needed a hand. Rei was still having some trouble with walking after all. The man eventually left them in front of a door with a condescending look. Yuri merely opened the door she remembered from the previous time and stepped inside.

"Oh my, this is two more than we were expecting!" a woman exclaimed gently once everyone was inside. Rei smiled at her.

"Kai and I are really just here to watch and get out of the house. Yuri and the twins are the only ones really here today," he told the matron.

"I see. Well, in that case, why don't you two strapping young men have a seat over there," and the woman pointed behind and to the left of them. She had noticed the nearly imperceptible tremors in Rei's arm and legs and the way Kai was already reaching out a hand to grasp Rei's elbow. "Yuri, was it? I want you and these adorable little angels to follow my helper Yuki to the fitting room." Yuki was a woman in her early twenties who looked very professional, but kind. She bent down until she was eye-level with Ai.

"And what are your names?" Yuki asked the twins. Kai had knelt down and put Momo's feet on the floor but she refused to release his tank top or turn to face Yuki. Ai was smiling nervously at the two strange women.

"The one with gold hair is Ai while the one with her face buried in my shirt is Momo," Kai said.

"I see," was Yuki's reply. "Momo, Ai, let's get you changed into some outfits I think you'll like?" Yuki held out her hand, waiting. Ai reached out and hesitantly took the hand. It wasn't until Kai gave Momo a gentle push that she moved towards Yuki. Even as she walked away, Momo kept her eyes on Kai.

"Momo's acting strangely," Rei commented softly as soon as the door closed behind Yuriko.

"Mm. She seems to be afraid of letting me out of her sight," Kai commented. Rei, tired again from walking even such short distances sighed heavily.

"She'll get like this sometimes. No one's quite sure why but there will be times when she just starts clinging to one of us. I worry," Rei said.

Kai started seriously thinking. "She only started clinging to me just before you were allowed to start walking again."

"You're right!" Rei exclaimed softly in surprise. "That was the day before we called Mr. Dickinson too. But why?"

"When Momo clings to someone, what happens afterwards?"

"Come to think of it, something major and often-times not so good would usually happen. Why do you ask?" Rei asked.

"It might be that she gets a premonition. Nothing major at this age, but just a really bad feeling and a need to stay near a person."

"I never thought of that. But why do you think that?"

"With Kami Bit Beasts being real and sentient creatures I'm not allowed to believe that there are other things beyond an ordinary human's ability to grasp?" Kai asked, a very small sardonic grin touching his lips. Rei looked slightly disturbed and very deep in thought for a few minutes before he replies.

"You're right. But Kai, she's been having these…episodes I suppose we should call them…since she was two." Kai shrugs.

"I'm not one to judge when something should start. The reason I suggest it is that I know there is more to your family than I've been shown. Sere seemed to be able to read my very soul."

"She can. She's clan head as soon as she reaches eighteen for a reason. Something Sere never tells the adults of the family is how she seems to be able to do things. As you saw, she even acts like the world's worst klutz and ditz. But she's the most graceful of us all and the most intelligent. We're all hoping she'll tell us why."

"As I was saying," Kai continued, offering Rei a small glare for his interruption. "You've always been able to tell when someone else was around or when something was wrong. It makes sense that such an ability is a family trait that Momo got a heavy dose of."

"Makes sense. I just always thought it was because she felt that she was going to lose us and that my leaving and not returning for a year made it worse. I mean, even Ai is sort of not really close anymore. And truthfully, I was always Momo's favorite sibling." Kai put his arm around Rei's shoulder, looking away in the process.

"Give her time. She needs to see that you'll be there for her when she needs you most. Besides, she's a little young to understand the need to prove oneself."

"But how can I help her get a handle on this ability of hers? Not even Sere seems to have realized what it is," Rei said gloomily, letting his head fall gently onto Kai's shoulder. Over the past week, he'd gotten used to Kai's presence next to him and the casual arm slung over the shoulder.

"We'll figure something out later. For now, just focus on enjoying a day out of the house." Rei nodded against Kai's shoulder in agreement. Sighing softly, he let his eyes close half-way, enjoying the warmth coming off the phoenix in waves.

Several minutes later, Yuri reappeared. Her hair was loose and flowing down her back. She wore a dress with a peasant style top done in sapphire blue. The neckline of the dress was a low scoop-neck that showed off the perfect amount of her chest without being overdone. The bodice was form-fitting with matching lace along the neckline. The sleeves flowed past her fingers. It was tight around the hips, but was loose and flowing otherwise and brushed the bottom of her calves. On her feet were black ankle boots with a strap along the tops that were buckled closed. Another strap and buckle went around from the heel to the arch of her shoe.

She was followed by Ai in an adorable amethyst dress with an empress waistline. The waistline was covered with a thick ribbon in a matching amethyst tied in a bow in the back. The skirt was also loose and flowing, creating gentle folds in the fabric that reached to her ankles. Her shoes were black patent leather mary-janes covering white lace-edged socks. Her gold hair was held back by an amethyst ribbon tied in a matching bow.

Momo came out after them, wearing a dress in ruby red. Unlike Ai's dress, hers had a v-waistline and scoop neck. From the v-waistline, the skirt flared out and was held up by several layers of red tulle. The dress also reached her ankles. Her pink hair had been let loose, with several ruby red ribbons threaded gently throughout. Chinese slip-ons in a matching ruby covered her feet.

After make-up was applied and accessories added, the girls went to the camera room for the actual shoot. Rei and Kai followed, again sitting in the corner. Rei had not noticed that the arm around his shoulders had migrated to his waist while he'd been walking, steadying him surreptitiously.

Overall, the photo shoot went quite well. The camera man remarked often on how photogenic the trio was and how they seemed to know just what to do, especially the eldest. It was almost like she'd been to a photo shoot before and had previously coached the other two.

As Rei had expected, the head of the company had spotted the similarities between the eldest twins and requested that he join the team once he was well. The man seemed perfectly willing to wait over a year if it was necessary. What surprised everyone was that he also said that Kai needed to join as well. He'd ignored the glare shot his way and exclaimed about how similar it was to his first assigned person.

Numerous outfits had been worn by the three. Everything from the formal clothes they'd worn first to swim suits. Per the usual deal companies made with their models, the clothes and accessories were given to the Kongs at the end of the shoot. The drive home was long, as traffic was unusually heavy. When they finally arrived home, they saw a strange van parked in the driveway. Momo, on seeing it, grabbed the hands of both her brother and Kai in a tight grasp and refused to let go no matter what. Rei also became uneasy when he recognized the symbol of the BBA on the side of the van.

When they were all out of the car, Kai picked Momo up. Rei's hand remained in her grasp, pulling him closer to Kai. Unconsciously, his other hand grasped Kai's tank top lightly. Kai noticed but focused on getting everyone into the house so that they could solve this problem.

AN: That's all for this chapter. I know, I know… Stop with the cliff hangers. But if I don't stop here for this chapter, I would have too long a chapter and it might take longer to get out. I'll be working on this more. I've had some bad things happen this summer and I need to distract myself. Besides which, I just got hit on the head with inspiration. I've been watching the episodes on TV right now and got some great ideas from it. Whether those ideas will get into the story is anybody's guess. Please review and tell me what you like/dislike about this story or any discrepancies you see. This will help me in the future, but mostly with giving all of you the best story I can.

Review Responses:

Kittyluv: I'm sorry about the cliffy. It's just the best place to cut off. Thank you for your patience. It's greatly appreciated.

Forfirith The Dark Angel: I agree, but he makes the perfect villain, ne? Of course he didn't. This is stoic old Kai we're talking about. Like I've said before, when it comes to my characters, they have serious mental issues. Kai's just easier to write because of it. Thank you for your support.

Krazykel: Congrats on the blue belt. I only really ever got up to purple but could have made it to brown if I tried. But I had to quit for various reasons. I'm trying to keep it as realistic as possible, remembering my own experiences, but some of it will be crazy. Thank you for your support and well wishes. Unfortunately, complications seem to be a part of my life. I'm feeling like Rei right about now. Anywho... you should like high school—as long as you avoid the whole clique mentality thing but you don't sound like the kind of person who would like it anyways. Good luck in preparing for that.

Tntiggris: Thank you for your support. And I hope you continue to enjoy the Kong Family exploits.

Leviathan06: Twitching? I hope you don't twitch yourself out of existence. Thank you for reading and responding to my story, I greatly appreciate the support and help. And here you go. I'll try to write more soon, but life seems set on interfering.

Mistskeeper: The paper went okay… I think it wasn't the greatest cause it seems my grade is lower than I thought it would be but then, I hated the class anyway and passed the class w/ a B. That's good enough for me. Here's what's wrong with Momo, hope it explains things. I think you'll get your answers soon enough, ne? But it is definitely going to surprise you again—I hope. giggles Yuri's Bit Beast is the entire reason for the title in the first place. Missing things is okay… That's what I like most about reading good fics and stories—there's always something new to find out when you read it again. As far as I'm concerned, nothingness IS a word. Love the quote. Thank you for taking the time to always write me such long missives. It shows that you truly enjoy the story.

AN2: As of this moment, I have 175 hits on my story. That means nothing really, but 39 hits on my last chapter is very uplifting. Also, I didn't realize that my story has been archived in three c2's: "For the Ultimate Kai and Rei Luvas," "Great Stories," and "KaiRei LOVE!" Please check out all three. They're all wonderful places with some wonderful fics. Thank you to the following people: animephreak80, Chocolate-Chan, dark-anime-lover2, Draco-and-Hermione22, DriggerWhiteTiger, EmpressKrymson, Enchantress10, Himura Kiana, jaques-lefrou, kittyluv, krazykel, Kristen Hiwatari, Lady of Mystery and Chaos, saFire flamE, and Tenshi-Tara for putting me on their favorites lists. And I would also like to thank the people who have put me on their alert list: Chocolate-Chan, dark-anime-lover2, Enchantress10, harukatenohu, Himura Kiana, kittyluv, Lady of Mystery and Chaos, and leviathan06. I am glad that so many people truly enjoy my story. Also, thanks to all those who put me on their favorite authors' lists: Amethyst Tiger Tears, animephreak80, Annmarie Aspasia, Aznfyre, Brilover, falconwingdiving, Forfirith The dark angel, forsaken love, inuyashadeamonlove33, KeiraX, knee-deep, Leviar Astrite (who STILL hasn't read this story but that's okay), mistskeeper, MyStIc BlAcK PhOeNix, and saFire flamE.

Descriptions of outfits: a _gi_ is the traditional outfit worn in martial arts. It consists of loose pants and a top that ties on both sides of the hips. The top is tied left over right ONLY. It is usually not explained to students why it's tied that way, but the reason is that when a _kimono_ or _gi_ is tied right over left, the person is dead according to tradition. It's considered tacky and a major faux pas. Women who take martial arts are required to wear shirts underneath the _gi_ top in order to maintain decorum, especially since the _gi_ top sometimes becomes loose. Once the _gi_ top is tied, the belt is put on around the waist, pulling the loose fabric together. Usually, the belt is thick cotton tied in a square knot in the center just under the belly button. For this story, the cloth belts are tied with simple knots on either side as well as just under the belly button. _Hakama_ are traditional loose pants that were common during such times as the _Meiji_ period. _Haori_ were the traditional matching tops for the _hakama_ that, again, were tied left over right. They were also tied close to the body with cloth belts under the belly button. _Hakama_ and _haori_ were traditionally worn only by men, it was considered improper for a woman. _Tabi_ are the traditional Japanese socks: there is a split in between the big toe and the others, but otherwise, the _tabi_ are much like the modern-day socks. The split in the fabric of the _tabi_ is for the _geta_. _Geta_ are basically wooden slippers (flip-flops etc.) that are elevated off the ground slightly. They were a traditional type of clothing and were always worn with _tabi_.


	10. Disturbing News and New Insights

AN: Here's another chapter and two pages more than normal. Thank you all for the wonderful responses to the last one. Personal thank yous for reviews are at the end. Please enjoy. And, as always, review and let me know what you think. That's the only way I'll know what you're looking for in the story. Sorry again for the delay.

Kong Siblings

Reiken Shing(better known as Rei)—16 going on 17, black hair to mid-thigh, gold cat eyes, oldest, older twin to Yuri.

Yuriko Ling(called Yuri)—16 going on 17, black hair to mid-thigh, gold cat eyes, second eldest, younger twin of Rei by three hours.

Natsuko Meiying(called Natsu)—13, crimson hair to waist, lavender cat eyes, third eldest, single child birth.

Kentarou Jin(called Ken)—10, brown hair to ears (tiny bit messy), marine-blue cat eyes, fourth eldest, oldest triplet.

Kiriko Lee(called Kiri)—10, light blue hair brushing the bottom of her shoulder blades, sapphire-blue cat eyes, fifth born/middle child, middle triplet, younger than Ken by two and a half hours.

Shinryuu Tien(called Shin)—10, brown hair to ears (fairly messy), crystal-blue cat eyes, sixth eldest, youngest triplet, younger than Kiri by thirty minutes.

Ryuuken Sying(called Ryuu)—9, deep violet hair in a traditional Japanese-style haircut, deep violet cat eyes, seventh Kong, single child birth

Aiko Xiang(called Ai)—five and a half, blonde hair brushing her shoulders, lilac cat eyes, eighth Kong, second youngest child, older twin.

Momoko Zhen(called Momo)—five and a half, light pink (think rose pink) hair brushing her shoulders, gold cat eyes, ninth/youngest Kong, younger twin, younger than Ai by one hour.

Disturbing News and New Insights

The five of them entered the house quietly, noticing that the house was unusually silent. Having also become uneasy thanks to the behavior of the other three, young Ai literally clung for dear life to Yuri's skirt. Fearing that Ai would rip the fabric, Yuri gently disengaged her sister's fingers and lifted Ai up onto her hip after removing both their shoes, forgoing Ai's house slippers. With one arm around Ai's waist, she gently stroked Ai's hair in an effort to calm Ai down. Ai transferred her tight grip from her older sister's skirt to her shoulder.

Kai was having a bit of trouble maneuvering around with Momo balanced on one hip and Rei pressed up against his other side. He didn't say anything, more out of a feeling that they could sense what he could sense: an air of foreboding that had enveloped the entire Kong household. The trepidation he was feeling caused the restriction of movement to be welcome instead of something he would hate. In fact, once he managed to wrestle Momo's sneakers off her feet and both his shoes and Rei's were replaced by slippers, he pulled Rei closer, shifting Momo into a slightly more comfortable position.

For nearly a minute, he merely held the raven-haired blader close to his body, blocking the path to the parlor. Rei let his hand fisted lightly in Kai's tank top fall loose. Instead, his free arm wrapped around Kai's waist and Rei tucked his head into the junction where Kai's neck met the shoulders. Rei felt comforted and warm in Kai's arms, a feeling he hadn't felt since his parents died. With that warmth came the knowledge that Kai was probably willing to go against anyone or anything that would harm them all. That knowledge caused Rei to unconsciously move closer to Kai, who willingly pulled the neko-jin even closer. Slowly, Momo's grasp loosened just a bit, enough for Rei to safely remove his hand and also wrap it around Kai's waist. Kai's arm moved from around Rei's shoulders to his back.

When Yuri cleared her throat lightly, the three of them jumped. They hadn't noticed as Yuri took out a camera and snapped several pictures of the scene. After realizing where they were, Rei began to blush heavily. When he tried to pull away however, Kai's arm only let him pull away to a distance where he could be supported easily as he walked without hindering Kai's footsteps. Neither one of them would look at the other. Kai's cheeks were also a very obvious pink. Momo didn't even notice, still grasping Kai's tank top tightly with one fist as she reached out and caught Rei's bound hair "tail" with the other hand as it swayed with Rei's swift movement.

_I SWEAR! How blind can those two be!_

After a few seconds of a nervous Rei trying to move even further away from Kai, he finally gave up and allowed himself to be supported. They all entered the parlor to see that it was completely full of people in business suits. The only one of the group Rei and Kai recognized was Mr. Dickinson, who was sitting dejectedly in a high-backed chair. At their entrance the group looked at them.

"Rei, Kai, thank goodness you're here," Mr. Dickinson exclaimed. Even as he began to stand up, he noticed the others who entered with his team. "Who are these others?"

"My family," Rei said shortly, moving slightly closer to Kai. "If you'll excuse us Mr. Dickinson we've just been out all day and need to change into more comfortable clothing. Also, my other family members are home by now and probably hiding in their rooms. Give us some time and then Kai and I will come speak with you."

Yuri nodded gravely at the man, who couldn't see any of her hair, which was once again hidden under a hat, nor her eyes, which were hidden behind the sunglasses still. While Kai dragged Momo and Rei up the stairs immediately after Rei finished talking, Yuri first went to the dining room door, stuck her head in and called out to Chizuko, hoping the woman was there.

"Yes Yuri?" Chizuko called back, obviously working on something in the kitchen.

"Please make sure that drinks and snacks are brought out for all of our guests as well as all of us. It sounds like Rei and Kai are planning on introducing the entire family to the BBA higher-ups," Yuri replied.

"Of course. Go get yourself and Ai changed."

"How…?" Yuri began, surprised that Chizuko could know.

"There are strangers in this house, Momo's closer to Rei and Kai, and you raised the girl. You're her source of protection."

"Ah. Arigatou Chizuko."

"Anytime." With that, Yuri turned and began in her task of getting herself and her baby sister changed into more comfortable clothes.

By the time Yuri returned downstairs with Ai trotting alongside, Rei and Kai had gotten everyone else downstairs and seated on the floor or standing near the loveseat Kai had appropriated for Rei. Yuri wasn't sure what Kai wanted so she erred on the side of caution and hid her hair and eyes beneath a shawl wrapped loosely around her head and shoulders. Under that, she wore a red shirt and gray skirt. The skirt fell in gentle folds to her ankles.

Rei looked far more comfortable and relaxed in a pale yellow shirt and green sweat pants. He'd let his hair loose and contained in a much simpler loose ponytail at the nape of his neck. Kai sat next to him, his typical scowl on his face matching the persona the family now associated only with the blue shark fins freshly painted on his face. However, he had changed into a simple black shirt and matching black cargos that, while still intimidating, Yuri knew was much more comfortable—especially missing the arm guards and traditional scarf. Momo was now wearing a simple pink dress without any frills or lace and nestled against both boys.

Ai was wearing a purple dress that matched Momo's. Kiri was wearing a dark blue skirt paired with a lighter blue shirt. Natsu wore white pants with a red shirt. Ken wore a brown shirt paired with blue jeans. Shin wore black jeans with a white shirt. And Ryuu wore a violet shirt paired with black cargos. Yuri handed Ai over to Natsu, who pulled the child into her lap and moved to stand behind the loveseat, between Kai and Rei.

"Now we can talk Mr. Dickinson," Rei said.

"My boy," Mr. Dickinson said and then paused, obviously confused by the number of children in the household.

"This is a private matter Mr. Kon," a businesswoman said abruptly. Gesturing around the room, she continued, "Only yourself and Mr. Hiwatari are involved. The rest must leave, immediately."

"I'm sorry, Miss…" Rei said, trailing off due to the lack of introductions.

"Oppenheimer."

"Aa. I'm sorry Oppenheimer-san, but they stay. And you seem to have failed to notice that there are three others you don't want to tick off in the house." Rei said, slipping completely into Japanese.

Before the woman could continue her rant—something she obviously intended to do when her mouth opened—Kai interrupted. "This isn't your house. Shut up. All of you idiots introduce yourself. The littles stay until Rei says otherwise." This was in Russian. Thankfully for Mr. Dickinson, all of his followers present today understood not only Japanese and English—the main languages of the BBA—but also Russian and Mandarin. The woman gasped, completely affronted.

"Well, I never!" Ms. Oppenheimer said. She was ignored in favor of appeasing the one member of the Bladebreakers that the BBA was always uncertain about. Names were given and in the end, Mr. Dickinson's companions proved to be a group comprised of four men: Mr. Stones, Mr. Chiba, Mr. Black, and Mr. Topper (D.J. Topper the announcer who was cheerful and pleased to have been invited) as well as five women: Ms. Oppenheimer, Ms. Tanaka, Ms. Kino, Ms. Brown, and Mrs. Love.

"Welcome to my home. What is it you're here for?" Rei asked testily, getting annoyed at the fact that no one was speaking about the reason they were here and were more interested in prying into his private life.

"Rei, my boy," Mr. Dickinson said, "The situation with Voltaire has gotten significantly worse."

"How so Mr. Dickinson?" Rei asked.

"As you know Kai, the abbey was considered an orphanage. When things came out into the open about his practices with the poor souls who disappeared from the orphanage and those who remained, the government took the children in.

"Due to the circumstances, the BBA was given charge of the Blitz Krieg Boys. Now, all of them were questioned and we've discovered some serious conditioning in them and our psychiatrists have started working on breaking that conditioning.

"Several problems have arisen from this. One is that we need to assume Kai went through the same amount of conditioning—at least—and begin treating him for it. The second is that Voltaire is trying to reclaim the Blitz Krieg Boys on the grounds that he formally adopted them. From what we've found, that's untrue, but we still have a lot of legal papers to go through.

"Until we can determine the validity of his claim and deal with what got him thrown in jail in the first place, the boys are in significant danger if we can't hide them from the public. Max's mother took in Ian for the moment. We've also managed to get Spencer and Bryan squirreled away in the White Tiger's village. However, we have no place to hide Tala who, as the leader of the Blitz Krieg Boys is probably most in danger and has the most to work through.

"Not to mention that after the tournament and before we managed to take Boris into custody, all the changes made to Tala that turned him into a cyborg were unceremoniously undone. He's still very ill from all the changes his body's gone through twice now. He's in a lot of pain and needs to readjust to his body. He may also need a doctor at a moment's notice."

"Basically, you want me to take him in. Especially since Kai is someone you think Tala looked up to before the incident during the tournaments," Rei cut in.

"Well, yes," Mr. Dickinson said, surprised.

"Aniue, who's Tala?" asked Natsu, looking up at her older brother.

"The red-head my team-mate Tyson fought to win the tournament."

"Oh. Aniue?"

"Yes Natsu?" asked Rei distractedly, still looking at Mr. Dickinson.

"We should take him in. He was in a lot of pain from the battle itself, even though he didn't show it," Natsu said seriously, surprising the BBA people.

"What do the rest of you think?" Rei asked, looking around at his siblings. Most of the siblings simply nodded their heads in assent. Ai had no opinion and indicated such with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Natsu's right. Not to mention that we can take care of our own. I'm sure Sere would want us to take him in. She may even claim him as another stray, which would do wonders for him," Yuri replied, bending over the couch to lightly kiss her brother's cheek.

"Do it," Kai said. "I can help with whatever conditioning he's gone through. A psychiatrist won't help him."

"Kai, you need to see a psychiatrist yourself. And of course they can help him, my boy, that's what they're there for," Mr. Dickinson replied.

"I do NOT need a shrink. They could never understand what we went through in the abbey," Kai said stiffly to Mr. Dickinson.

"Actually, Aunty is a licensed psychiatrist recognized by Japan. If she feels they need her help, she'll intervene. But only if she thinks they need it after she first meets them," Rei said, putting a calming hand on Kai's arm. "I suppose that confirms it. If Chizuko and Ryousuke aren't averse to taking care of another teenager, then there won't be a problem and we'd be glad to take in Tala."

"We'd be glad to have another to care for. He'll probably need more attention than any of you which would actually give us something to do, Rei-san," Chizuko said from the door to the kitchen. She surprised the visitors who didn't know that someone was listening in on the conversation. Carrying in a tray with snack foods and drinks for everyone, Chizuko casually walked into the room and slipped the tray onto the table.

"Ryousuke's already planning out a permanent room for him although final details will depend on what Master Tala prefers. Until he's medically cleared, he can stay in the first guest room. With your permission, Rei-san, we'll begin preparing for him," Chizuko continued after standing.

"Hai, arigatou Chizuko," Rei said before turning back to the BBA chairman. "We'll take Tala in whenever he's been cleared medically to stay in a home. My family has several doctors we can call on if problems arise after that."

"Thank you Rei. However," Mr. Dickinson continued with the next problem, "Voltaire is also ordering the court to return Kai to him. As Kai is his grandson, the court is debating such unless we can provide someone willing to claim Kai as a legal adoptee."

"Sere already claimed him as a full member of our family," Yuri said gently. All three teens noticed that Momo clutched Kai tighter at the change in discussion.

"So she did," Rei commented. "Well, that takes care of that! I believe you've imparted everything of importance to us. Since all of it's been settled quickly, please feel free to stay and enjoy some juice and a quick snack before you go."

"My boy, the last matter of Kai is not settled. In fact it can't be and I am warning you that Voltaire is willing to do anything to get Kai and the Blitz Krieg Boys back!" Mr. Dickinson said.

"Voltaire can do what he wants. Sere said Kai is a member of our family and he's therefore off-limits to Voltaire," Rei said in a voice much colder than Mr. Dickinson was used to hearing from the sable-haired blader. All of the Kong siblings looked at their older brother in surprise. He NEVER got mad.

"Could she have known something was going to require such a protection for me?" Kai asked suddenly in the silence.

"Possibly," Yuri said softly. "Kami knows she's always five steps ahead of everyone else. Either way, she wouldn't have claimed you if you weren't worth bringing in."

"Kai is NOT a concern. My family is VERY territorial. You'll see what I mean if things continue in this matter. For now, please enjoy the food and drinks," Rei said firmly.

The younger children quickly grew bored of watching the visitors stand around stunned and grabbed some of the food as well as a glass. After eating their fill, they all ran off, even Momo, who was looking much better. In the end, the only ones to remain behind were Rei, Kai, Yuri, and Natsu.

"Thank you for visiting Mr. Dickinson. And while I understand that you are concerned about Kai's safety, there is nothing to worry about. If you'll excuse us, we've all had a busy day. Feel free to stay as long as you want, Chizuko will be on hand if you need anything. Good day," Rei said cordially.

With that, Rei stood up, with help from Kai and Yuri. They walked up the stairs and disappeared into the bowels of the house. Natsu stayed a bit longer to finish her snacks but disappeared into the kitchen soon after, unnerved by the way the visitors glared at her.

"A word of advice minna-sama," Chizuko said, "Do not antagonize anyone in this house. You'll find that working with them is far better than working against them." Everyone just looked at her oddly.

Rei leaned heavily against Kai as he walked out of the room. However, as soon as they were out of sight, he found himself lifted completely off the ground and carried bridal-style the rest of the way to his room. Once he was gently placed on his bed, he was joined by Kai and Yuri, who sat on the bed on either side of him.

"I forget," Yuri said softly, brushing a few loose strands of her twin's hair away from his sweaty face, "which of the relatives are doctors and which aunty were you talking about with the psychologist thing?"

"The original Takani/Sagara line tends to produce all types of doctors. When I said Aunty, I meant Aunt Naruko of the youngest line. And with the doctors I'm willing to bet we automatically get booted all the way up to great-grandmother Megumi," Rei said.

"Original Takani/Sagara line?" Kai asked.

"The Clan was basically started by about seven people. The Takani/Sagara line is named such from the marriage between Takani Megumi and Sagara Sanosuke. That group married into the second generation with one of the Sagara sons marrying the youngest daughter of the leader of our Clan. The other main lines are the /Shinomori line, the line, and the Kamiya/Himura line. Since the Himura line absorbed all the others into one large unit—for the most part—the clan is called the Himura clan and Great-grandfather Kenshin and Great-grandmother Kaoru are the leaders of the Clan," Yuri explained.

"The family is so large in part because the earlier generations produced several children per generation… anywhere from five to ten. Once we branched out enough that way, they did the intermarrying bit and then spread out again in the third generation. Our generation is the fourth generation and there are probably about 100 recognized cousins. The thing is, the first generation is still alive," Rei continued.

"What's so unusual about that?" Kai asked.

"The Himura clan was founded during the Meiji," answered Yuri. "And the first generation were all barely bordering on the early teens during the Bakumatsu."

"So the founders are all around 200? So how are there only four generations and how are they even alive?" Kai asked in complete surprise.

"No one knows why all the hisofu and hisobo are still alive and very healthy and don't look a day over 40. Whenever the question comes up, though, Sere seems to be hiding something though no one presses for answers," Rei said in a slightly exasperated tone.

"As to the other question," Yuri began, "the first two generations waited till late in life to start families. So for example… First generation was pushing 50 or more when the last children were born to the main lines. The second generation was pushing about 55 before they bore the third generation. That's a hundred years or so… on average. In many cases it was significantly more than that and balanced drastically by the few who had families young (tended to be the youngest in each generation). Then third generation took about 25 or 30 years to mature and only a few had children shortly after high school. However, the average age for the parent when the youngest child was born was still 37. And my generation is nearly all of an age with each other—the oldest cousin is 22 going on 23."

"I see, sort of." Kai's face showed a slightly overwhelmed, glassy-eyed expression.

"It's complicated, but you'll pick it up fairly quickly," Yuri said, a laugh hiding behind her simple words. She let her shawl fall loosely around her shoulders. "Eventually," she continued, "you'll meet everyone. But not even I have met all the family members yet. We're easily recognizable by attitude though. And there's a big Clan meeting where everyone will gather to see Sere formally invested as the new Clan leader."

"When's that?" Kai asked, relaxing and leaning against the headboard.

"About two years from now. The instant she turns 18," Rei replied. "That's at the stroke of midnight on the transformation from June Twenty-ninth to June Thirtieth."

"I see. By the way Yuri, well done on figuring out I don't want you revealed to anyone outside the house yet."

"I wasn't sure and decided to play it safe. I'm glad I did."

"Any one of them could be in Voltaire's pocket. And that Oppenheimer woman pissed me off," Kai said, tensing again. Yuri noticed and decided to change the subject.

"You know Tala best out of the three of us Kai. What's he like?" she asked.

"Cold," was Kai's immediate response. "When I first met him, the Beyblade project had just been formed and Voltaire was given a tour of the facilities that he dragged me along on. All the children who'd been gathered over the previous three years were lined up in military lines. Tala was the only one of the present Blitz Krieg boys there at the time.

"He was orphaned about a year before that and hadn't had very loving parents to begin with, from what I've gathered. He was still thin and too tiny. So he was in the front row. What caught my attention was his red hair, no one else had that hair color.

"I stared at him. When Voltaire caught me staring, I was expecting to get hit. He'd already begun to turn me into an emotionless human. Instead, he merely smiled what I know now was a sinister smile. Then I just thought he was indulging me for good behavior or something.

"He asked me who I was staring at and I replied of course with 'the boy with red hair.' Voltaire made some inquiries with the database and then assigned Tala as my 'companion.' And that's how we met."

"So you're good friends?" Yuri asked.

"No," Kai replied, throwing an arm over his eyes. "Although we were once: two children suffering the same fate. It built a bond between us. But when we were ten, Voltaire separated us. He said it was to train us both for very special positions."

"We know what that ended up like," Rei said quietly. "He has no claim over you at all Kai. Sere made you one of us, a FULL Clan member. You're OURS! And we're fucking possessive!" Rei's voice rose as he continued. Kai lifted his arm and stared at Rei in surprise.

"Oh would you two just GET TOGETHER already!" Yuri practically screeched. Shoving her brother hard, she caused him to fall against Kai. Huffing in frustration, she continued, "I don't want to see you two again until you've resolved this!" And she left the room, saying, "Really! Boys!"

AN: I'm stopping here. Sorry, but I need to think of what to write, but still want you to get something after such a long wait. Thanks for reading, please review so I know what you think. Frankly, I wasn't expecting where this chapter took itself. Hope you enjoyed all the extra story. Can't believe it, but I couldn't find a place to stop before this. Plus, I'm heading off for college tomorrow morning and will be busy for the next week or so before classes start.

Japanese: -san an honorific used for Ms. Mr. Mrs., aniue literally brother-above, used here as a formal title for older brother to distinguish Rei from the other Kong males, haiyes, arigatouthank you (the most informal version), minna-samaeveryone (formal), hisofugreat-grandfather, hisobogreat-grandmother

Review Responses:

Da-Ku Hisaki: Thanks. I'll try more.

Forfirith: No prob, on both counts. Enjoy!

Lady-Nikki: Thank you very much, I appreciate your review and opinion greatly. Sequels? I'm not even done with this story yet!

Tntiggris: Me too! Maybe I can get someone to draw it or something.

Kittyluv: Thanks. I truly appreciate your patronage.

Mistskeeper: SURPRISE! Here you go! Tala goodness! Your spelling seems fine to me. I understand about the title thing… but I always try to connect mine to the story somehow…. It'll become even clearer when things progress and Rei can start blading again. We'll work on the thing with Momo m'kay? Tricking? Why would he trick Kai? Puppy-dog eyes and guilt trips would work just as well, but we'll see. The man's an idiot… If I have to bring him in again (looking likely at this point), Kai will be…DEALING…with him. That cloud bit was cool, thanks for sharing. I'll see if I can see any of them myself on my own flight. Ja ne! Hope you'll like the Tala I'm portraying in the story!

To all of my readers: Whether you review or not, I appreciate the fact that you took the time to read my story. It's always been my dream to be an author someday, for as long as I can remember actually. This is my first step towards that goal. If I can write stories the majority of people think are really good and build up my skills from practicing here, then maybe I can one day get my stories published professionally. bows deeply You honor me greatly merely by stopping off and reading my poor first attempt at a story.


	11. Surprising Pain

AN: Sorry for the delay….The characters sometimes can't decide which path to take and my muses are being simply un-helpful. And no, although the threat of ninja squirrels was kinda cool, it didn't help me type quicker…. My friends are scarier. This chapter's shorter than most. I just can't put any more in at the moment. Thank you all for your reviews. If you review anonymously and would like me to write you back, then leave me an email addy since the new rules state that I can't reply in the story here.

Kong Siblings

Reiken Shing(better known as Rei)—16 going on 17, black hair to mid-thigh, gold cat eyes, oldest, older twin to Yuri.

Yuriko Ling(called Yuri)—16 going on 17, black hair to mid-thigh, gold cat eyes, second eldest, younger twin of Rei by three hours.

Natsuko Meiying(called Natsu)—13, crimson hair to waist, lavender cat eyes, third eldest, single child birth.

Kentarou Jin(called Ken)—10, brown hair to ears (tiny bit messy), marine-blue cat eyes, fourth eldest, oldest triplet.

Kiriko Lee(called Kiri)—10, light blue hair brushing the bottom of her shoulder blades, sapphire-blue cat eyes, fifth born/middle child, middle triplet, younger than Ken by two and a half hours.

Shinryuu Tien(called Shin)—10, brown hair to ears (fairly messy), crystal-blue cat eyes, sixth eldest, youngest triplet, younger than Kiri by thirty minutes.

Ryuuken Sying(called Ryuu)—9, deep violet hair in a traditional Japanese-style haircut, deep violet cat eyes, seventh Kong, single child birth

Aiko Xiang(called Ai)—five and a half, blonde hair brushing her shoulders, lilac cat eyes, eighth Kong, second youngest child, older twin.

Momoko Zhen(called Momo)—five and a half, light pink (think rose pink) hair brushing her shoulders, gold cat eyes, ninth/youngest Kong, younger twin, younger than Ai by one hour.

Surprising Pain

As Yuri left the room in a huff, practically slamming the door behind her, Rei had just landed on Kai's chest. While Kai was slightly breathless, it didn't stop him from quickly removing his arm from in front of his face lest he hurt Rei. Nor did it stop him from slipping his other arm around Rei's waist to prevent the completely frozen boy from falling and hurting himself further.

In the end, once things had settled and both their ears had recovered from the slamming door, Kai was leaning heavily against the headboard with one arm supporting his precarious position and the other around Rei. Rei was sitting in between Kai's legs and curled up against Kai's chest, one hand clutching his left shoulder which had been jarred against Kai's body during the fall. His left forearm was pressed tightly along his abdomen in an effort to reduce the pain being jarred had caused the break. His head was tucked neatly under Kai's chin. Strands of his hair cascaded over the end of the bed while the majority of it pooled between them.

Rei's eyes were shadowed by his bangs as he curled tightly in on himself. His bottom lip was caught tightly between his teeth in an effort to not cry out in pain. All of his injuries had been triggered by the push. However, even despite her rough treatment, he couldn't force himself to be mad at his sister. Part of it was his own fault after all. Pulling a Himura generally left the person in great pain for nearly a year. At any other time, he would have been perfectly fine. But this just proved to him how close Bryan had come to truly killing him. It wasn't a pleasant thought. And his sister didn't know because he'd been very careful to continue to keep all of the pain off his face, a trick he'd learned during his time outside of the village before the tournament.

"Rei?" Kai asked, loosening his hold on the neko-jin slightly.

Rei couldn't bring himself to look up at his captain through the pain. He felt Kai shift slightly. Once Kai was situated more stably and comfortably against the headboard so that neither of them were liable to fall off, Rei felt himself gently pulled back against Kai's chest. However, this time, his head was level with Kai's collarbone. Still in immense pain, he didn't feel the gentle pressure on his chin.

However, he did notice when Kai said, "Look at me Rei." Rei's eyes fluttered open and he found himself staring directly into Kai's eyes. Kai's eyes were pools of ruby liquid: warm and gentle. Caught by the expressions in Kai's eyes, Rei started to notice that Kai's hand was cupping his cheek. Instinctively, Rei leaned into Kai's hand while his own molten gold eyes remained locked with Kai's.

"What's wrong?" Kai asked softly. His thumb rubbed gently along Rei's cheekbone in an effort to comfort the neko-jin in the only way he knew how. Rei shook his head, refusing to answer. Kai sighed. "Tell me. That's an order as team captain Rei." Rei bit his lip, but a single look at Kai's implacable face forced an answer.

"I pulled a Himura," was all he said.

"And what, precisely, is a Himura?" Kai asked, truly curious. He pulled Rei back against his chest by moving the hand from Rei's cheek to the nape of Rei's neck and tugging extremely gently on it. Rei tucked his head back under Kai's chin, his breath softly tickling the hollow of Kai's throat.

"Kenshin-hisofu is a swordsman, a REAL swordsman taught in the satsujinken of Japan. However, the style he was taught wasn't fit for his body structure. More than that, it was destroying his body. He was taught to completely disregard the needs of his body as part of a job he held before he was twenty and the Bakumatsu was complete. Due to that early training combining with the sword style, he caused a great deal of harm to his body during major incidents, harm that was slowly starting to kill him. Kaoru-hisobo took to calling that tactic a 'Himura' after other clan members started doing the same," Rei explained softly.

"The tactic of overextending yourself, you mean?" asked Kai, absently playing with Rei's hair.

"Yes. By the time we faced the Blitz Krieg Boys, I'd already been pushing close to mine," Rei said.

"How? You held a lot back until that final fight with Bryan."

"It had been over the course of a year. Dealing with the White Tigers and getting back Drigger the first time took a lot out of me."

"How exactly did you get Drigger back?"

"Training in the composite family fighting style nearly all night once everyone else, including you, was asleep. And a lot of meditation during the day. The reason Drigger left was that I lost my focus and my reason for fighting. Sere actually sent me a teacher after that time. That's why it seemed like I really wasn't doing anything."

"Ah. So basically, due to that stress and then Bryan…?" Rei made a negative sound in the back of his throat.

"When you were with the Blitz Krieg Boys, I came very close to losing my center again. It took everything I had to stay calm during that time. Especially since I knew that you were being tricked."

"I betrayed your trust Rei," Kai said, self-recrimination obvious in his voice.

"No Kai, Boris and Voltaire betrayed yours. They tricked you and you fell for it. I never blamed you for any of it. But it did strain my body. And Bryan required all of my concentration. His power was automatically escaping and about to attack the crowds. The Blitz Krieg Boys were never taught to completely control their power. The reason I kept getting hurt was that I was pulling all of his attack toward me and being distracted by having to catch any strays before they reached the crowd."

"So you basically were doing the work of three people. No wonder you got so badly injured."

"It wasn't just then. Bryan had NO control. Every time he fought in the stadium, I had to focus everything to keep the magic from hitting anyone. And Spencer wasn't much better. Ian had enough control to limit it to the floor, but with the other teammates out there I didn't want to risk it. And Tala had enough control to keep it in the ring before he was turned into a cyborg. That final battle required controlling as well. Unfortunately, I was already in the hospital and distance made it harder."

"Fuck…" was Kai's reply. The sheer strength it would take to maintain the same expression and behavior patterns as Rei had done when doing something like that… And Kai truly understood how such things worked. It was the basis of all Bit Beast attacks and the reason only select people had Bit Beasts at all. Only those who could manipulate the energy the Bit Beasts produced received one and which one they received was based on how much they could control.

"That's why Ikuko-basan was yelling at me. The Clan member who'd been teaching me was always in the crowds and realized what I was doing but could never get near enough to me to tell me to stop or take over from me. And Sere's so mad that she's pretty much declared me unfit for the next half-year. Any serious training will be another half-year away.

"Yuri doesn't quite realize. She's never been around other Bit Beasts than mine and yours and both of us have perfect control. As does she. And I never told you or any one else this before, but the doctors had a difficult time with me the first two nights in the hospital. I nearly died about nine times."

"You've been hiding the pain to prevent us from worrying, haven't you?" Kai asked. He didn't even wait for Rei's response as a sigh escaped. "Tell me these things Rei. Not just because I'm your captain but because I can't help if I don't know what's wrong. And I care for you." Kai's breath hitched, Kai being completely surprised by his own admission.

"Care? For me?" Rei asked in equal surprise. He looked up at Kai, his feelings shining in his eyes. Kai merely nodded, voice caught in his throat. Rei smiled softly and leaned back against Kai, pressing a soft kiss to the hollow of Kai's throat.

"Go to sleep Rei. We'll figure out what to do with your injuries when you wake up," Kai said, now shifting both of them so that they were lying side by side along the bed. Despite the fact that it was still late afternoon and dinner was in approximately two hours, both of them quickly fell asleep.

They were awakened a couple of hours later by Chizuko who knocked loudly before entering the room, having been warned by Yuri as to what had happened. Chizuko smiled lightly at the pair, glad that things were heading down the right track for once. She wanted to see the eldest of her charges happy again.

Dinner was a quiet affair. Significantly, Rei and Kai sat beside each other quietly, refusing to speak to anyone. Yuri wore a smug smile on her face throughout the meal. Even Momo and Ai behaved themselves, sensing that things were tense.

When everyone was done eating, Shin and Ryuu cleared the table. Ken helped Kiri wash the dishes, while Natsu helped Chizuko-san with the pots and pans. Ai and Momo ran up to take baths under Yuri's watchful eyes and then be put to bed. The three of them would have another photo shoot the following day so the twins needed their sleep. Kai followed Rei into the living room and both sat down on the loveseat.

When Natsu, Kiri, Ken, Shin, and Ryuu entered the living room after finishing their chores, they found their oldest sibling literally curled around their newest family member. The guys giggled softly while the girls squealed quietly. Both were caught up in their own little world, paying no attention to the rest of the household. When Yuri came down several seconds later, she ushered all five of them out and upstairs quietly, so as not to disturb the eldest two.


	12. A Red Head and Preparations

AN: Heyla again! Here's the next chapter, enjoy! This one's done in a combination of third person with a slant towards the newest character's thoughts so even if you know who it is, the names might not be mentioned for a while until the new character gets introduced to the clan.

This chapter is especially dedicated to mistskeeper for all her wonderful help and suggestions and bugging me constantly about this and that. I really didn't mind when you kept asking me things. Keeping it mysterious was fun! I hope you enjoy all the loverly goodness I inserted.

Kong Siblings

Reiken Shing(better known as Rei)—16 going on 17, black hair to mid-thigh, gold cat eyes, oldest, older twin to Yuri.

Yuriko Ling(called Yuri)—16 going on 17, black hair to mid-thigh, gold cat eyes, second eldest, younger twin of Rei by three hours.

Natsuko Meiying(called Natsu)—13, crimson hair to waist, lavender cat eyes, third eldest, single child birth.

Kentarou Jin(called Ken)—10, brown hair to ears (tiny bit messy), marine-blue cat eyes, fourth eldest, oldest triplet.

Kiriko Lee(called Kiri)—10, light blue hair brushing the bottom of her shoulder blades, sapphire-blue cat eyes, fifth born/middle child, middle triplet, younger than Ken by two and a half hours.

Shinryuu Tien(called Shin)—10, brown hair to ears (fairly messy), crystal-blue cat eyes, sixth eldest, youngest triplet, younger than Kiri by thirty minutes.

Ryuuken Sying(called Ryuu)—9, deep violet hair in a traditional Japanese-style haircut, deep violet cat eyes, seventh Kong, single child birth

Aiko Xiang(called Ai)—five and a half, blonde hair brushing her shoulders, lilac cat eyes, eighth Kong, second youngest child, older twin.

Momoko Zhen(called Momo)—five and a half, light pink (think rose pink) hair brushing her shoulders, gold cat eyes, ninth/youngest Kong, younger twin, younger than Ai by one hour.

A Red-Head and Preparations

The limousine pulled up to the door. The temporary ramp had not been removed, even though it had been several weeks since Rei had stopped using the wheelchair. It was used as a red-head swathed in bandages was wheeled up to the door and into the mansion. He was still groggy, having slept on the way there. He was, however, surprised by the palatial appearance of the house. At the door, he was met by Kai carrying a young girl with pink hair and gold cat eyes.

"Kai," he said softly. Kai nodded, keeping hold of the child who was struggling to get down and to the newest arrival at the Kong Manor.

"Tala," was Kai's reply. "Welcome to Kong Manor. You'll meet the rest of the group in a bit."

"Excuse me, Kai-sama," said the man pushing the wheelchair, "I have to go pick up Rei-sama from the hospital and then swing by and pick up the others as well."

"I can take it from here Fujimaru," Kai replied. Tala was confused when the girl with hair nearly the same as Mao's was put on the ground and pushed inside to inform "Chizuko-san that Tala's here." When the girl chattered back at Kai in a pleading tone, Tala was greatly surprised that Kai smiled and murmured back in the same language as he pushed her towards the door again.

Kai wheeled Tala into the genkan and then up into the main house. Tala was surprised to be transferred to a comfortable chair by another man dressed in a tuxedo and watched as a woman bustled around, setting up food on the coffee table. Kai sat to one side of the loveseat across from Tala, the little girl climbing into his lap.

"Thanks Chizuko-san," Kai said softly once the woman was finished laying out snacks for what looked to Tala like a small army. There was a clear saucer with a handful of pills on top of everything else. That was placed near the two sitting on the loveseat and Kai seemed to give it a close examination as if to make sure all the necessary pills were there. "Chizuko-san," Kai called towards the kitchen where the woman had disappeared, "did the doctors say he's okay without taking the anti-inflammatory?"

"Yes. I just got off the phone with Sagara Megumi-sama who also said it was time for Rei-sama to come off of those. She did, however, disagree about him coming off the stronger pain relievers. I don't understand why though."

"He doesn't want her to know how bad it is. He was pushed very lightly by her and was incapacitated for nearly ten minutes."

"Ah."

"Don't tell aneue okay?" Kai asked the little girl in his lap. She nodded, burying her head in Kai's chest. Most of the conversation had gone over her head anyways. Tala had watched the conversation and had come out of it feeling like he'd been in a tennis match without knowing the rules.

"Kai, what's going on? Why are you here?" Tala finally asked nearly twenty minutes later, settling more comfortably into the chair.

"Hmm?" was Kai's distracted reply. Kai hadn't even taken his eyes off the child in his lap who snuggled contently against Kai's chest.

"Why are you here? Hell, how is Rei here?" Tala asked.

"Because this is my family home," came the reply from the doorway. Tala turned around to see the neko-jin limping in slightly. Rei limped over to the loveseat and sat down, ruffling the girl's hair as he did so. Kai didn't even flinch.

"As for why I'm here," Kai replied, "I'm in the same position as you, except even worse since he technically has legal custody of me as my last remaining relative. Rei offered to take me in when Mr. Dickinson wanted to stick me with Tyson."

"Ah," Tala became silent watching how the three interacted. He never even noticed when six others entered the room until a young woman with bound and hidden hair picked up the saucer with the pills, one of the glasses full of milk, and handed both to Rei with a kiss.

"Take your pills before Megumi-hisobo starts force-feeding you," she said sweetly. She had a little girl with golden hair grasping onto her skirt. Rei sighed before doing as he was told, with Kai holding the saucer of pills. After that was done, the young woman and the little girl took seats on the sofa near Rei and Kai.

"Welcome to the Kong Manor Tala," Rei began, repeating what Kai had said as he took additional sips of milk. "My family has lived in Japan for three generations now and though my parents are dead, they left a substantial inheritance for me to collect. The neko-jin clan doesn't deal enough with the modern world to know that I was expected to live here. Also, my name has been mispronounced during the entire tournament: it's Kong, not Kon. These are my siblings." One by one, Rei introduced each of the siblings in no logical order. Momo, when she was introduced, clutched on tightly to Kai as she stared at the newest guest. Yuri was the last to be introduced.

"This is my twin sister Yuriko Ling Kong." As Rei said this, Yuri removed the sunglasses and shawl. Her hair fell unbound in dusky waves to the floor as her golden eyes blinked languidly at the captain of the Blitz Kreig Boys. Tala's breath hitched as he found himself staring at a female version of Rei.

"Fuck…" was the only thing he could manage to say. Yuri giggled at the expression of pure, unadulterated shock.

"Welcome into our home, Tala-san. Kai-chan speaks very highly of you."

"When the hell did I become -CHAN!" Kai asked in rude surprise and affrontery.

Yuri giggled again. "Ever since you became such a mother-hen to Momo," was Yuri's reply.

"I hate you," Kai replied, glaring at her.

"Love you too!" she replied far too happily for Kai's liking. He continued glaring for a few minutes.

"Rei-sama," Chizuko said softly from the doorway to the kitchen.

"Yes Chizuko-san?" Rei asked, concern shining in his eyes, body tensing.

"There's a phone call for Kai-sama…" she started, looking extremely nervous and worried.

"From whom?" Rei asked, already suspecting the answer.

"The man refuses to give his name but is insistent about speaking to Kai-sama, saying I need to do it or 'my precious children will feel his wrath' and I fear he thinks some of the younger siblings are mine…." Chizuko looked almost ill, face pale as a ghost's at the thought of anyone harming the younger children. She may not have known them for very long but she loved them all and served them willingly and not just due to her previous oaths as housekeeper to the Kong patriarch and matriarch.

"Give me the phone," Rei's voice was commanding and a little angry, his expression a silent stoic mask neither Tala nor Kai recognized. However, the rest of the Kong siblings and Chizuko backed away a bit in fear, realizing that expression as one that meant trouble amongst the clan.

Chizuko disappeared into the kitchen briefly and returned with the phone on a tray that she also used to collect the dirty and empty dishes from the snack after Rei picked up the phone. Rei glared fiercely at the phone as he picked it up.

"Hello?...Well of COURSE I'm not Hiwatari Kai. You refused to give Chizuko-san your name and I am the next person such people rude enough to not give their names talk to. … No I will not hand over the phone. … How did you get this number? … Sir, I frankly don't care what rights you think you have. You've obviously pulled some very illegal strings and my team captain is not here. Lawyers will be in touch with your lawyers! Do NOT call again! … GOOD DAY!" Rei pressed the end call button with a tad more force than was actually required.

Before Rei could do more than put the phone down on the nearly empty coffee table, he found himself pulled back and into Kai's lap. Having been on the phone, he hadn't noticed when, near the end of the conversation, Kai had shooed Momo off his lap. Momo had willingly gone to sit with Shin until her aniue was calmer. Kai cuddled Rei close, holding him tightly but, at the same time, loosely enough to prevent the aggravation of Rei's wounds.

"Shh. Calm down Rei," Kai practically cooed. At the tone Kai was using Tala again gawked in surprise. He had NEVER heard such a tone coming from his friend. Once Rei was sufficiently calm and practically purring under Kai's gentle ministrations, Kai continued speaking, "'My team captain is not here' Rei?"

"I'm not averse to lying to get what I want and I wanted him to leave this house alone. The fact that he has the number worries me. He SHOULDN'T have it. Which reminds me… Ryousuke-san!" Ryousuke entered the room and rose an eyebrow at the sight before him. Feeling the tension and seeing the way all the children were poised on edge, he was worried about them all.

"Ryousuke-san, call the lawyers, Sere-hime, and Mr. Dickinson of the BBA. Hiwatari Voltaire just called our house. I want him brought up on charges because I barely gave Mr. Dickinson the address. There should have been no way to find out Kai was here or any way for him to get our phone number."

"Hai, Rei-sama. Right away. I believe I'll call Serenity-sama once she is supposed to be out of school, I don't believe leaving a message with Ikuko-san will do any good."

"No, it won't. Thank you Ryousuke-san."

"Enough," Kai said once Ryousuke had left the room. He again started cooing at Rei, brushing his hand lightly through the fall of dark hair.

Within two hours, the house was teeming with police and BBA Japan security. Rei had the twins crowded in his lap, Kai beside them. Natsu and Kiri sat on the floor nearby. The rest of the family was upstairs and locked in their bedrooms. The story for their disappearance was that Yuri was tired after a photo shoot, Ken was showering, Shin was grounded (Chizuko had coughed to hide her smile at that), and Ryuu was catching up on his assigned homework, having fallen behind. Tala, still in the wheelchair in the middle of the living room, was feeling put upon and in a great deal of pain as a result of people constantly forgetting he was there and knocking into him.

Once the police officers had taken statements from Rei and Chizuko, they left to investigate. The lawyers arrived just as the police were leaving and waited patiently in the corner for Rei to finish with the BBA Japan security team. Once the security team were assured that Rei just wanted them to keep an eye on Voltaire and ensure his family didn't get hurt, they finally left.

"Kong-sama, what this man has done is unacceptable," said one of the lawyers.

"I know. That's why I want you to add charges of harassment and invasion of privacy to the claims already against him. NOBODY touches this house without permission; the advertisers and everyone else know well enough to stay away by now. Also, I need you to find out who told them because that was a breach of trust and is NOT allowed. I won't have my family or guests," and here Rei waved a hand to encompass both Kai and Tala, "in danger. This man is crazy and I took these two in to protect them. See to it."

"Hai, Kong-sama. We'll be in touch." The lawyers left, notes on the situation in their briefcases and basic ideas for attack being talked about as they left.

After things finally settled down and the people upstairs had come down and settled back into their previous positions, Rei apologized to Tala profusely for the excitement on his first day in the house. Begging exhaustion, however, Rei said that he would retire to his room for a nap. Kai didn't even let Rei move a muscle, carrying the neko-jin up the stairs despite Rei's feeble protests. Yuri took over as hostess, shooing people into their ordinary routines with a few waves of her hand.

Taking control of Tala's wheelchair, Yuri wheeled the new resident down the hall to an open door. The door led to a spacious bedroom that contained the same queen-sized beds in the upstairs bedrooms for Kai, Rei, and Yuri herself. There was a matching nightstand on which sat a single lamp. The dresser and closet in the corner of the room were opened slightly where it became evident that Tala's clothes had been packed away for him. Against the windows looking out at the yard was a desk and chair filled with proper tools for use at a later date when Tala was free of the chair. All of this, Tala took in with a glance.

"Again, let me apologize for the horrendous state of things as you entered. Also, since Reiken forgot, please inform no one of what I look like, we intend to use my appearance to our advantage against Voltaire. You have an appointment tomorrow morning with our family doctor and we'll get you proper medications then. For now, please rest until dinner," Yuri said, helping Tala onto the bed.

"Thank you Kong-san," Tala said politely, obviously suffering from shock.

"Ryousuke or Chizuko will probably be the ones to come get you for dinner later," Yuri said as she began to walk out of the room. Looking back over one shoulder at the door, she continued, "Trust Reiken. He knows how far he can push the court on this matter and his lying will be acceptable as he had no wish for such aberrant behavior to continue." Tala nodded before sinking back into the cushions as bonelessly as his many injuries would allow.

Dinner had gone off without a hitch with Tala nearly being metaphorically swamped by the younger Kong siblings. Seeing Rei in a situation where he was more obviously a major guardian was new to Tala. Also, Rei seemed far more human with his injuries and the way that he reacted to the others. Kai had smiled more frequently than Tala remembered since shortly after they first met. And to Tala, Yuri had been the quintessential mother figure who wiped the mouth of Aiko when she missed a spot.

The following morning, Tala was woken to a knock on the door. Once he was up sufficiently to call out to say it was okay to enter, he was surprised by the presence of an adult he'd not met the day before. She appeared to be about 35 years old with long green hair and blue eyes. Fairly tall for someone who appeared to be of full Japanese ancestry, she stood at nearly five and a half feet tall. She wore a white kimono over which she wore a calf-length blue double-breasted overcoat. She bowed at the door before entering.

"I am Sagara Megumi, the family doctor Reiken and Yuriko told you about. I'm here to see what exactly is wrong with you and prescribe better medicines than what you got at the Russian or Japanese hospitals. I work exclusively amongst the family these days," she said softly as she entered the room carrying a medium-sized duffle bag. From that duffle bag, she began to pull several medical instruments upon reaching Tala's bedside. This was even before she had put the bag on the night stand. Tala had managed to pull himself semi-upright against his pillows as she arrived and did as he was told during the examination.

"Well, the good news is that none of what was done to you was permanent. The bad news is that you will heal slowly and you will need to wear glasses for a while. What they did to your eyes was very dangerous and we may be unable to correct it properly for several years," Megumi said, wiping off her hands with a sterile hand wipe after using another on her instruments.

"What do you mean 'properly'?" Tala asked, curious.

"Our family has several unusual skills, as I'm sure you'll start to realize soon. Every single person is trained in at least two specialties: one gets used for the outside world and the other exclusively for the clan. For example, my youngest great-grandson is thirteen and well on his way to becoming a professional tennis-player. However, he's also been trained as a doctor among other things. Though… something's wrong with him right now and I'm not sure what… But that's off-topic. When your body has healed as much as is naturally possible, we will have to wait several years before trying to correct your eyes since eyes are the most touchy part of the human body and we don't want you to become permanently blind because somebody messed something up. We'll have to see which method is most convenient," she murmured. When she had mentioned her great-grandson, Tala had stared in surprise. In fact, he was still gaping at her with his mouth open. She finally looked up from putting her medical instruments away and laughed at his surprise.

"Yes, I am a lot older than I appear. None of us are sure why family members tend not to age but we enjoy it. Even those who marry into the family seem to be granted long life. The only family members who have died, died of extremely virulent diseases, terrible accidents, or forces beyond control. All of these people were too far away for a member of the family to arrive in time to prevent death. The orphans are mostly well cared for and adopted by other family members, though we lost little Ryoshin until Seiji found him two years ago."

With that, Megumi picked out some clothes for Tala to put on and left for the living room where she would wait for the family to arrive to discuss the situation. Tala took nearly half an hour to change and just as he finished Kai came in and helped him into the wheelchair. Kai noticed that Tala was pondering something deeply as they wheeled out of the room to the living room where everyone else was waiting. Megumi started off by repeating the diagnosis she had told Tala, which visibly worried Rei.

"Also, I'm putting in a formal recommendation to Kenshin to accept both boys into the family, Kai having already been accepted by Serenity will make his entry assured while Tala's medical report should also be enough to get him accepted. I'll get the Clan optometrist to make an appointment to come over and get Tala fitted for glasses. The Physical Therapist I'll employ to come over is very dependable and won't reveal anything. I'll have Sano bring over the medicines once they're ready. Other than that, I just want all four of you," and here she was looking pointedly at the eldest four children in the room, "to be CAREFUL. I'll be in touch."

Once Megumi had left, Tala looked skeptically at the two eldest Kongs and Kai. "So from what I understand, you've got a large family. Just how large and what type of power do they wield?"

"We're technically a Clan, really. One that was created by the joining of several families that could have been and often were considered the remnants of clans themselves. Megumi-hisobo was the only survivor of a massacre that took out the entire Takani family in Aizu. The Takanis were doctors by inheritance. Then you have Misao-hisobo and Aoshi-hisofu's family. Misao-hisobo's father was Okashira of a major spy network before his death. Aoshi-hisofu's entire family was ninja and kunoichi to the emperor and he was also Okashira after Misao-hisobo's father. Kaoru-hisobo's father was a samurai of a minor clan of which she was the only heiress. The same is true for Yahiko-hisofu whose father was the last true samurai of his clan. Other families and clans have been brought in over time but those are the major five or so clan lines, and the ones we directly trace ourselves to though the main lines of all are so intermingled that we just tend to call Kenshin-hisofu the founder of the full Clan and put him in charge. It's not fun for him and he is confused as to why he was chosen, but he was the leader and glue of the group that formed," Rei said.

"There have been four generations since the founding of the Clan during the Meiji era. We're the youngest generation and there are about 200 of us all told. Due to the huge number of new members, a new Clan leader for the younger generation needed to be chosen. The first generation decided on Serenity Tsukino from the Himura/Aino line when she was born. She's sort of the eldest of us middle-ranged children who are now about 16," Yuri continued.

"How was she chosen?" Tala asked.

"By divining from a miko at each birth that happened for other reasons as well. The miko who evaluated Sere wasn't of the Clan and passed out from the sheer potential Sere has. What the older generations don't realize is just what Sere is," Yuri answered.

"And what is she?" asked Kai.

"A reincarnation of an extra-terrestrial human with wings and magical powers. We help keep the secret, all of us who she interacts with, though the rest of the family will find out soon enough," was Rei's reply. "On her eighteenth birthday, there will be a ceremony, though none of us know what that ceremony entails, which all of the Clan will attend. Supposedly, her true self will be revealed then to the family and after that, the rest of the world. Certain family members are supposedly tapped especially for certain tasks once Sere comes fully into her own. However, according to Minako, another cousin, even Sere doesn't know everyone who's been tapped or why."

"I see," was Kai's reply. Tala was still non-plussed, but went along with it. He realized the information would take time to sink in.

"Anyway, now that both Sere-hime and Megumi-hisobo are insisting on adding you both to the Clan registries that should take care of any of Voltaire's claims. He'll try anyway, of course, and since he wants the kami Bit Beasts, he'll still come after the rest of the team either way. It'll probably end up in a tournament so we'll work on getting Yuri trained up to perform exactly like me. Confusing Voltaire and Boris is our main concern, even Tyson and Max shouldn't know a lot of what's going on," Rei finished, leaning back into the sofa.

"Yuri, you and I will be increasing your training schedule. We don't know how long the police are going to be able to keep him in court related matters or even in the country. Once he's allowed to move freely as long as he returns for his trial, he'll organize a tournament. If we're lucky, we have maybe four months. You should be able to completely mimic Rei's style within the month," Kai continued.

"Agreed," Yuri said. "Sere-hime called last night. She's upped the training of Kiri, Ryuu, Natsu, and Shin. Whenever they go anywhere there will be a minimum of four older Clan members guarding them. The twins will always be accompanied by six older or highly trained Clan members even if the two of us are present. Tala, Kai, if either of you go out, please let us know. There should always be one or two Clan members with you who are experts at getting the crowd to interfere with kidnapping or assassination attempts."

Kai and Tala nodded.

As the months passed, things settled down in the Kong household. Tala acquired a pair of silver wire-frame glasses in an oval shape. He was confined to the wheelchair for nearly three full months before Megumi said it was safe enough to begin walking again. However, he was so exhausted that he had spent the majority of those three months confined to his bed, unable to even summon up the energy to get out of bed. Often, Yuri would bring Tala his meals in bed and help him eat. Even after he started walking again, Tala was still exhausted.

Kai trained Yuri relentlessly every day, giving her the same schedule he'd used to get Rei into shape for the World Tournament. She progressed quickly and by the end of their grace period, was able to pull off all of Rei's moves and was surer of her own power than she had ever been before. Drigger was obeying her just as quickly as he had ever obeyed Rei, which surprised Kai the first time they used the Bit Beasts in battle. Even though he had suspected Drigger would obey, he had never expected the obedience to be so absolute. It was almost like Yuri and Rei were so close that the Bit Beasts didn't care which was which.

Also, the tutors that Kenji had advertised for had finally been selected. They had begun to teach at the house after they all signed a privacy/non-disclosure agreement. Most of the children were actually farther ahead than was typical so the tutors focused mostly on encouraging their charges' love of learning and teaching them the things that would normally be taught in juku. Even Tala was quickly finding himself pushed farther ahead than students his age normally were and he'd been behind in several areas.

It was at the end of the third month since Tala had joined the household that they received the news: Voltaire was heading for Japan. He had already succeeded in bribing the court to give back Kai, only to meet the full force of the Himura Clan when the court asked them to return him to his legal guardian. The result was that now, Voltaire was coming in person to force Kai back, or so the old man thought. Also, Boris was joining Voltaire and had begun setting up a tournament in an effort to "restore the Abbey's good name." The Blitz Krieg Boys had been invited to compete against the Bladebreakers, but Tala had refused for all of them in a public statement read by Mr. Dickinson.

Tyson and Max had been called to notify them of the upcoming tournament in which they would also be competing at Voltaire's "special request." They'd also been told that due to his injuries in the World Tournament, Rei would not be participating, but was still part of the team and that a replacement had been found for him and trained to fill his spot. Kenny was already making up training schedules for the team and submitting them to Kai by mail. The tournament was due to take place in two months and there was much preparation required by everyone.

The two following months proceeded quickly for everyone involved. The tutors would continue teaching as the tournament was slated to be spread out over another month or so. Sere had kept her promise and had again upped security and taken to dealing with all legal issues concerning Tala, Kai, the Kongs, and the tournament on top of her already daunting workload. Yuri's clothes for the tournament had been carefully tailored by Chizuko and every precaution had been taken by the BBA-Japan and Mr. Dickinson. Mr. Dickinson had checked and discovered that there were, in fact, no rules against wearing sunglasses in the tournament or covering your entire body.

By the week before the first match, the Kong household was on edge, but confident of their preparations and missions and goals for the tournament. And then, the other members of the Bladebreakers arrived.

AN: Here you go, much Tala goodness and a huge leap in plot. Also, a huge explanation of more of my crazy crossover world. Kiri was suddenly inspired during a heat wave we had here and hit me over the head with a block of ice, which may explain my headache… The last few pages were written in a matter of two days while the rest of the chapter had been languishing on my computer for most of this semester. Enjoy, and as always, R & R.

Japanese terms: genkan—entrance way, usually a small room in Japanese houses where shoes are removed and house slippers are put on before stepping up into the actual house. Aneue—literally "sister above" this is probably the most formal way to address an older sister; the masculine form aniue refers to a respected older brother. The phrase is used here to delineate between all of the older brothers and sisters Momo and Ai have and thus refers to the people that had practically raised them as their oldest siblings. –Chan—the reason Kai gets so upset by being called –chan is that this form of address is used mostly on children and females; for Yuri to call Kai "–chan" is almost an insult. Neko-jin—literally "cat-person" used here and by the creators of Beyblade to refer to Rei's people. Aniue—literally "brother above" see aneue for further info. Hisofu—great-grandfather. Hisobo—great-grandmother. Okashira--leader. Miko--female priestess of Shinto belief.


	13. Preparations for a Tournament

AN: Sorry this chapter took so long. Kiriko was unconscious for over half a year… It took me that long just to find her. As a result, this chapter's really short but I just wanted to get something out to you all. Hopefully, now that my semester from hell number 3 is winding down I can get back to writing. Kiriko seems to be awake now anyways, even if she IS distracted. Enjoy this chapter. Hopefully, I can get another chapter out by the end of May or early June, we'll see.

Kong Siblings

Reiken Shing (better known as Rei)—16 going on 17, black hair to mid-thigh, gold cat eyes, oldest, older twin to Yuri.

Yuriko Ling(called Yuri)—16 going on 17, black hair to mid-thigh, gold cat eyes, second eldest, younger twin of Rei by three hours.

Natsuko Meiying (called Natsu)—13, crimson hair to waist, lavender cat eyes, third eldest, single child birth.

Kentarou Jin(called Ken)—10, brown hair to ears (tiny bit messy), marine-blue cat eyes, fourth eldest, oldest triplet.

Kiriko Lee(called Kiri)—10, light blue hair brushing the bottom of her shoulder blades, sapphire-blue cat eyes, fifth born/middle child, middle triplet, younger than Ken by two and a half hours.

Shinryuu Tien(called Shin)—10, brown hair to ears (fairly messy), crystal-blue cat eyes, sixth eldest, youngest triplet, younger than Kiri by thirty minutes.

Ryuuken Sying(called Ryuu)—9, deep violet hair in a traditional Japanese-style haircut, deep violet cat eyes, seventh Kong, single child birth

Aiko Xiang(called Ai)—five and a half, blonde hair brushing her shoulders, lilac cat eyes, eighth Kong, second youngest child, older twin.

Momoko Zhen(called Momo)—five and a half, light pink (think rose pink) hair brushing her shoulders, gold cat eyes, ninth/youngest Kong, younger twin, younger than Ai by one hour.

Preparations for a Tournament

It was the early morning light that met the small group that morning. Due to the fairly warm weather, they were eating breakfast on the veranda. Most of the younger children were still in bed at this hour, given the day off to rest and asked to keep out of sight for the moment. Only Kai, Rei, Yuri, and Tala were present that morning, with Chizuko serving as needed. It was a simple meal set for eight. Each of the four already present was dressed appropriately and took seats according to their preferences.

Kai wore black cargo pants, a dark blue tank top with embroidered red feathers falling towards the bottom of the shirt, black tennis shoes with white striping along either side, and black fingerless gloves with dull metal at each base knuckle. His customary face paint was not anywhere in view, his cheeks pale, though his scarf was draped over the back of the seat he sat at. Under the long white scarf was a short-sleeved jacket of ruby red that had gold diamond shaped buttons that matched his gloves. Kai sat against the house, his angle permitting the widest view of the surroundings. The yard was still slightly misty, though the fog was dissipating more quickly as the sun continued to rise. His typical uncaring attitude was present without the twins to force him to stop and Kai made an impressive figure as a result.

Rei sat to Kai's right, facing towards the yard and away from the door to the inside of the house. The same outfit he wore on the plane was once again being worn now; adopting it as his new "battle outfit" had been Yuri's idea to further confuse Voltaire. The black Chinese pants, dark gray undershirt, black Chinese robe with slits up to the waist, black Chinese slippers, and dark gray fingerless gloves were soft against his still occasionally troublesome skin. The gold sash and matching hems on the robe were the only difference, setting off the embroidered emerald and gold image of Drigger on the front of his robe. On the back of his robe, the silver and ruby image of Lrigger curled calmly. Rei's arm had recently been giving him trouble so Megumi-hisobo had ordered that he keep it wrapped to alleviate some of the aching. The bandages only made him look more fearsome however as Rei saw no reason to play nice and hide his true nature at the moment.

Yuri, dressed in her matching "battle outfit," sat on Rei's right. Her white Chinese pants, slippers, and robe were pristine and matched nicely with the light gray fingerless gloves and undershirt she wore. Where Rei wore a gold sash, his twin sister wore a silver sash with matching hems on the robe. Lrigger was embroidered in silver and ruby on the front of her robe while Drigger was embroidered on the back. She didn't bother trying to hide the fact that she was female. However, her black hair was hidden under a large silver shawl that wrapped around her neck like a winter scarf to dangle down her back. It also hid her bangs and shadowed the eyes already covered with dark, reflective sunglasses. She looked a little odd, but she would rather be proclaimed the oddest member of the Bladebreakers than have Voltaire know their plans. Around her neck still hung the Bit holding both Drigger and Lrigger safe, her blade safely tucked into the sash at her waist.

Tala sat on Kai's left, still exhausted but attempting to stay up. The months had been kind to him in letting him heal but he still had a long way to go. Next to his seat was a cane that he used to help support him as he walked since his right leg still gave him a lot of trouble. Tala never walked far however, seeing as his energy still ran out quickly. Megumi had warned him of that and said that it would persist until his body fully recovered as it had been so inundated with foreign objects. Tala wore white cargo pants, an ice blue tank top, and blue tennis shoes. His silver wire frame glasses sat beside his plate as he had no need for them during meals. He also had a simple jean jacket hung over the back of his chair in case he felt chilled.

The four ate quietly and companionably while they waited. It was eight-thirty by the time Chizuko led the Chief through the door. Chief was, to say the least, stunned to see Tala sitting at a breakfast table. The boy was dressed in his usual tan shorts but this time it was paired with a soft blue shirt. His glasses were lodged in his hair as usual and he carried Dizzi with him. At Kai's nod of the head, Chief took a seat next to Yuri. Facing mostly away from the door and towards the yard, Chief took in the sights of the home of one of his friends.

"Welcome to my home, Chief," Rei said softly. Chief turned to Rei in confusion.

"The place is huge. Are you the only one who lives here?" Chief asked.

"No, but that's not a major concern until after the tournament. What have you got for us so far Chief?" Rei asked.

"Not much. I've got a copy of the registered fighters but they didn't put much fighting information in. Kai," Chief turned to the team captain, "I heard you got a replacement team member for some reason…"

"I'm not allowed to pick up a blade for another month at least, Chief. Doctor's orders. So Kai managed to find the girl you're sitting next to and invited her to take my place."

"Why? I mean, did you explain about Voltaire?" Chief asked.

"Voltaire is not going to be a concern. The fighters are our main concern," Yuri said softly, turning towards Chief.

"Rei-sama," Chizuko called softly, carrying a phone on a tray with pills for both Rei and Tala, "it is time for your morning pills and Serenity-sama is on the phone." Rei took the phone with a quick thanks and Tala took his pills off the tray and began taking them slowly. Kai inspected Rei's pills and then put them in front of the neko-jin with a glass of water.

Just as the phone call ended, Chief more confused by the comments that flew around the table to be relayed to or from the mysterious person on the phone, both Tyson and Max arrived. Tyson, seeing the food quickly took the seat next to Chief, as far from Kai as possible while Max sat next to Tala. Tyson was wearing a blue shirt, blue jeans, a red and white jacket, and red and white tennis shoes. He took his hat off with a glare from Kai and placed it along the back of the chair. Max wore his green shirt with the yellow star on it, blue jeans, and white tennis shoes.

They sat quietly for a while as Tyson and Max ate. Yuri, though disgusted by Tyson's lack of manners, refrained from commenting as she insured that Rei took his pills. Kai also watched avidly as Rei took his pills. It was a slightly uncomfortable silence as no one expected Kai to have chosen a female replacement for Rei.

"So what are our opponents like?" Kai asked when Max was done and Tyson was beginning to slow down.

"Well, from what information I've gathered, it's a group of four guys with a female back-up. Two of the members, Leonard and Tanya, appear to be siblings. Tanya is older by about a year and a half. They're from Russia and didn't make it into the finals, but the stats list them as having been on one of the final eight teams. With enough intense training they might pose a challenge. Kenneth, Simon, and Victor have no previous stats on file with the BBC. Basically, we won't know anything about them until the tournament starts," Chief concluded.

"What's the format of the tournament?" Rei asked mildly, glancing at Yuri.

"Well, teams of four to six members can enter. However, at any one time, only five of those members at most may be entered to play. There can be one person as team manager, which is the position I'll be filling throughout the tournament. Some matches will be in a new form: tag-team. Two members of each team will face off against each other in three rounds. The rest of the tournament is pretty much the same."

"Tag-team, huh?" Rei commented softly, looking significantly at Kai.

"Do you know when tag-teams will be?" Yuri asked, equally softly, already on the same wavelength as her twin.

"Randomly, actually. Mr. Dickenson says each match will be randomly chosen from a handful of possibilities," Kenny replied. He was surprised by the look of glee that crossed Rei's face and the nearly identical look from their new team member.

"IF we get to the finals and they're held over a month from now and a format is chosen that includes a tag-team…." Kai started, mock glaring at the two. Both looked at him hopefully. "::Sigh.:: I'll think about it. No promises."

"Thanks," Rei said softly, leaning against Kai and giving him a one-armed hug around the waist. The three other members of the Bladebreakers stared in surprise to see their captain not only accept the embrace, but brush a light kiss along Rei's brow.

"The rest of this week will be devoted to getting Tyson and Max back up to par. Our opponents will not be easy. Besides Boris' team, we still have the usual rigmarole to go through. That means facing other teams. You have a choice, come here every morning at 7 am sharp however possible, or stay here and merely have to wake up and come down at 7 sharp," Kai stated firmly, getting back on task.

"I'd recommend staying here. Shorter distance and more sleep time," Rei commented.

"And that way Tyson might actually occasionally make it to practice on time…" Kenny continued ironically.

"HEY! I'm not THAT bad!" Tyson claimed indignantly.

"Yes you are!" the Bladebreakers all stated. Tala and Yuri watched smiling at the familiarity that the scene implied.

The decision was eventually made that everyone should spend at least the week at Rei's house. Rei had them installed in the lower rooms beyond Tala's. Tyson grumbled and grumbled but eventually admitted it was better if he was close by instead of far away which would mean getting up at five to get there on time, something he couldn't and wouldn't accomplish on his own.

Training promptly commenced. Yuri only practiced with Kai who also watched over Max and Tyson and occasionally squared off against them. Kenny took data on all four bladers and was surprised at the data he earned from their mysterious new teammate. Her moves were exactly like Rei's, even down to the energy levels her blade gave off. In confusion, he kept gathering more data specifically on her but the information was the same. In fact, when she deviated from the readings at all, both Rei and Kai would stop her and guide her back towards Rei's readings instead with firm conviction, telling glances, whispered words, and absolutely no need for Dizzi to mention anything. Kenny was becoming extremely weirded out.

The week passed in the same manner. In order to prevent Kai's efforts to wake up Tyson from waking up the rest of the Kongs, who went to bed earlier and woke up later than the Beybladers, he had been put in a storage room converted into a temporarily traditional style bedroom farthest away from the bedrooms, especially the second floor ones. Four out of seven mornings found Kai having to take drastic measures to wake Tyson up. The group managed to accept their newest member without ever having seen her true appearance and without ever having been informed of the reasons for the imminent deceptions. By the day before the tournament's opening ceremony, a long caftan-like robe of white had arrived for Yuri to wear.

That night before the opening ceremony, Tyson, Max, and Kenny returned to their own homes in order to spend time with their families. The Kong household finally had their first meal together for a week. Tala and Yuri were once again seated next to each other and talking quietly while Yuri watched over Ai. Momo smiled up at her aniue and Kai frequently, happy to finally be able to spend time with them. Chizuko and Ryousuke had both watched over the group as they trained on top of watching over the younger Kong siblings and Tala. Tala had decided to mostly stay in the house and continue his studies. He occasionally spent the afternoon watching Yuri practice, but his still weak body made it unwise to stay outside for too long.

AN: That's it for now. I'm a little stuck again since Kiri's distracted. Comments are welcome. Thank you to my reviewers for chapter 11, I greatly appreciate your patience.


	14. Bladebreakers vs Demons of Tokyo

AN: Here's hoping this doesn't continue to be a trend. I really do want to finish up this story. Unfortunately, the plot bunnies for other fics in this Multiverse decide to jump me more regularly. Sorry for the long delay. I apologize if the action comes across stilted.

Kong Siblings

Reiken Shing (better known as Rei)—16 going on 17, black hair to mid-thigh, gold cat eyes, oldest, older twin to Yuri.

Yuriko Ling (called Yuri)—16 going on 17, black hair to mid-thigh, gold cat eyes, second eldest, younger twin of Rei by three hours.

Natsuko Meiying (called Natsu)—13, crimson hair to waist, lavender cat eyes, third eldest, single child birth.

Kentarou Jin (called Ken)—10, brown hair to ears (tiny bit messy), marine-blue cat eyes, fourth eldest, oldest triplet.

Kiriko Lee (called Kiri)—10, light blue hair brushing the bottom of her shoulder blades, sapphire-blue cat eyes, fifth born/middle child, middle triplet, younger than Ken by two and a half hours.

Shinryuu Tien (called Shin)—10, brown hair to ears (fairly messy), crystal-blue cat eyes, sixth eldest, youngest triplet, younger than Kiri by thirty minutes.

Ryuuken Sying (called Ryuu)—9, deep violet hair in a traditional Japanese-style haircut, deep violet cat eyes, seventh Kong, single child birth

Aiko Xiang (called Ai)—five and a half, blonde hair brushing her shoulders, lilac cat eyes, eighth Kong, second youngest child, older twin.

Momoko Zhen (called Momo)—five and a half, light pink (think rose pink) hair brushing her shoulders, gold cat eyes, ninth/youngest Kong, younger twin, younger than Ai by one hour.

Bladebreakers vs. Demons of Tokyo: The Plot Thickens

Rei leaned against Kai on the drive over to the stadium on the opening day of the tournament. Since it was being billed as a charity event, with all proceeds from the tickets and concession stands going towards a variety of causes, there would be an opening ceremony slightly different from traditional BBA-hosted tournaments. Each team would be introduced and talked about their charity for a bit and several other things would be done before the tournament started the next afternoon. Rei had not slept well due to pain and the effects were taking their toll on him. After taking stronger pain pills at Chizuko's urging, he was halfway dozing. Kai didn't mind, merely shifting him into a more comfortable position for them both.

Behind them, in the back seat, Tyson was staring in confusion at the scene. Max giggled quietly at the anime he was watching in his transportable DVD player his mother had bought him for winning the World Tournament, oblivious to and uncaring of the interaction between the leaders of the team. Yuri sat in the front seat, occasionally glancing at the rear-view mirror of the BBA van to check on her twin. Worry creased her forehead at the way Rei seemed nearly comatose.

The seven younger Kongs and Tala would be brought to the stadium by Chizuko and Ryousuke later. They would be hidden in the stands, though it would be difficult to hide Tala's red hair. Rei and Yuri had hoped that Natsu's crimson hair, as well as the multiple other hair colors of the younger children would pull off the ability to hide Tala in plain sight. After all, Tala was known as a loner and this was Japan so his red hair would typically stick out atrociously. Why in the world, as a loner, would he be sitting amongst a group of foreigners with even more outrageous tones? Though the tactic was relying heavily on obscurity and the idea of hiding in plain sight, everyone was praying it would work. The last place that they needed to continue the custody battle was at the tournament.

Upon arrival at the stadium, the Bladebreakers unloaded and made their way to the center arena. They were not the first to arrive (mostly due to Tyson's sleeping habits), but they were also not the last. DJ Topper showed them to their personal waiting area, and all six calmly sat and waited patiently for the ceremony to begin.

When the ceremony began, all the teams walked out into the center arena and waited to be introduced. As each team was called forward, they spoke about their chosen charities. The Bladebreakers were introduced last, right after the Pride of Russia (Boris' team). When everyone in the stands saw the new line up of team members, nervous twittering began. In order to prevent problems from the crowds, DJ Topper gave a short, prepared speech about Rei's injuries during the World Tournament still healing and how that affected the Bladebreakers as a team. Tactfully, he skirted around the issue of having a disguised female on their team.

After a three-hour break for lunch, the tournament got underway. The Bladebreakers were up in the stands since they were not actually blading until two days later. The Bladebreakers were the only team from the Championships to appear in this tournament, since most of the others had realized that Boris and Voltaire had been behind the forming of the tournament. Thanks to the Bladebreakers talking about what had happened early on in Russia and having seen and felt the affects of the Blitz Krieg Boys, teams such as the American Allstars and the White Tigers couldn't figure out what even the Bladebreakers were doing in such an obviously rigged tournament.

While in the stands, the Bladebreakers were mostly silent, observing closely the way all the other teams were interacting. Rei and Kai were specifically watching the Pride of Russia team for hints as to team dynamics and their blading strengths and weaknesses. They were unimpressed by several new aspects, but also unsurprised by their methods.

Though Boris had been billing this new team as a kinder, more rule-friendly team, that image was ruined in their first match. The Pride of Russia had completely destroyed the blades of their opponents, and about half the bits. The audience booed them out of the arena, though they remained unaffected. Some of the losing team were injured and Rei contacted Sere immediately to see about getting them Clan doctors, who now had a better idea of how to deal with such injuries after Rei's and Tala's own medical reports.

That night, Rei was taken directly to bed and the rest of the team took the night off, the younger members surprised by the brutality they had seen. Kai had taken a tray up for dinner, and spent the meal making sure Rei got at least something in him. Still in a great deal of pain, Rei ended up nearly falling asleep in his dessert after taking the strongest pain pill he could. Kai caught him just in time and got him under the covers and settled for the night. Chizuko came up to check on them shortly after, just as Kai bent to brush a gentle kiss along Rei's forehead.

* * *

She regarded the pair fondly. Rei looked as if he had still seen better days, but was much better in general. To see the eldest of her charges/employers so grown up and yet so dependent on the help of others was a fascinating experience. And Kai was a welcome addition to the house as far as Chizuko was concerned. The poor young man had suffered more than enough and fit in well with her ragtag charges. Rei had needed someone to share the burden with and Kai easily fit that role.

"Master Kai?" she called softly.

"Yes, Chizuko?"

"The twins are having some trouble after what they saw today. I'm not sure what to do about it."

"Can Yuri take Ai? I'll take Momo since Rei's unlikely to wake up tonight," Kai replied seriously. "Also, Tala needs to be watched tonight. Things could get ugly with some of his memories."

"What of your own memories?" she attempted to ask gently.

"Mine were never as bad as Tala's. After all, I was that bastard's only heir so I had to be kept sane and semi-normal. I only really went to the Abbey when Grandfather spent long periods of time there. And rarely did I stay for longer than a week or so."

"But?"

"I haven't fully dealt with the abuse, it's true. I can still ignore it when necessary and right now, with Rei incapacitated, Tala bound to be having a relapse of some sort, and the twins now having trouble sleeping…well, one of us needs to hold it together."

Chizuko looked at Kai sadly. "Very well, I'll go and inform Mistress Yuri and see if Ryousuke can take care of Tala-san tonight. I would like to remind you that the custody hearing for Tala-san and yourself is in two days."

"Thank you, Chizuko-san." Kai replied. As Chizuko headed across the hall to get Yuri, Kai walked down to the twins' bedroom and scooped up Momo. She was shivering slightly, despite the warm rose colored nightgown she wore. Kai began humming unconsciously as he walked back to Rei's room. He closed the door into the hallway before going through the connecting door and leaving it open and putting Momo down at the edge of the bed momentarily. Turning off the overhead light, Kai left the bathroom light on so that she would not feel scared due to the lack of any light at all. He turned down the bed and helped her under the covers before climbing in himself.

* * *

For all fourteen members of the Kong household, the night proved to be a restless one. Most of the siblings had disturbing dreams after what they had seen: they were a combination of the brutality they had seen that day, what they could now imagine had happened to Rei, and the memories of loneliness and bullying from the neko-jin village. Despite the pill, Rei ended up in pain most of the night. Tala was overwhelmed by subconscious memories. Yuri was kept up by Ai and Kai ended up meditating to get enough rest for his round the following day after caring for Momo most of the night.

* * *

At precisely 10:37 am the following morning, DJ Topper started revving up the crowds for the next match. The latest match to finish hadn't been too messy so they could move on to what he considered the main event of the day.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! BOYS AND GIRLS! Help me welcome to the arena floor the official team of the BBA, champions of the World Tournament: the BLADEBREAKERS!"

The crowd cheered as the stage light focused on the left side of the stadium. Standing at the entrance, with Kai in front, was the Bladebreakers. To Kai's left was Tyson, to his right, Max. Rei, Yuri, and Kenny followed up behind as they walked across the stadium, up the ramp, and around the dish. Chanting could be heard from the stands as the Bladebreakers stood there in a semi-circle under the bright arena lights.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the opposing team, Demons of Tokyo!" DJ Topper announced, gesturing towards the opposite entrance. There was less enthusiasm in his voice though very few noticed or cared. After all, the Bladebreakers were world champions, and no one had ever heard of the Demons of Tokyo before.

The team that entered the arena was all male and all muscle. They were dressed in black with a great deal of metal, especially spikes, everywhere. Rei supposed it was meant to intimidate but frankly, when you've nearly died after fighting a psychopath like Bryan, ordinary punks didn't even register. Rei was also sure the rest of the team agreed. While the so-called "Demons of Tokyo" sneered and postured, the Bladebreakers—including Yuri—just stood there impassively. Yuri actually covered a yawn of exhaustion, but Rei could see that it came across as her being completely unimpressed by the team. He snickered softly at seeing the Captain of the Demons practically frothing at the mouth.

"Bladers, the match for today consists of two single matches and one tag-team at the end. You have two minutes to determine which of your six team members will be participating in this round and after we announce match ups, you have five additional minutes to talk with your strategists regarding your matches," DJ Topper continued. At that, both teams walked down the ramp and gathered around their benches.

Rei sat on the bench, as did Kenny. Yuri also sat on Rei's other side to prevent anything from falling off as they talked. On the other side, all six team members were gathered around and arguing rather loudly. About every fourth word could be heard clearly by the Bladebreakers as Kai talked softly to the team. They ignored it to the best of their abilities, with varying degrees of success: Max occasionally flinched at some of the profanity being liberally exclaimed by the other side.

"First single match is you, Lady," Kai started, using English to refer to her. They had been calling her that the entire time in order to prevent her identity from being discovered. "Second singles match is myself. Tyson, Max, you'll handle the tag-team match."

"Sure thing, Kai," Tyson replied, Max echoing him. "Hey Rei, when are you going to be ready to blade again? Not that I have anything against you, Lady, but…I mean… Well…" Tyson succumbed to the dreaded foot-in-mouth disease once again.

"I've got another doctor's appointment tomorrow, Tyson," Rei started, smiling slightly. "Hi-obaasan will tell me then whether or not I can start training again. The goal right now is for me to be ready for the final which is most likely going to be against the Pride of Russia. And Tyson… Watch Lady in her match today. You might be pleasantly surprised. After all, you've been too busy with your own training and training for tag team with Max."

"To what?" Tyson asked when Rei ended the sentence so awkwardly.

"You'll see. Just keep an open mind. In this world, anything is possible."

"Huh."

"And TIME! Team Captains please submit your list at this time and then return to your teams for strategy!" called DJ Topper on the microphone. Kai left briefly to do as he was told. "The match ups are as follows: Lady of the Bladebreakers against Hideaki of the Demons of Tokyo; team captain Kai against team captain Daisuke; Tyson and Max against Saburo and Benjiro."

The Bladebreakers spent the next five minutes looking at the statistics for the Demons on Kenny's computer and discussing potential strategies. With team members who tended to do best under pressure, it was simpler to discuss what the possibilities were but not to actually do anything. At the sound of the gong, the Bladebreakers immediately stopped and those who were standing sat down. The Demons were yelled at by DJ Topper for refusing to stop yelling at each other and ignoring the warning bell.

"Sit down now. Another incident like this and you'll be disqualified," DJ Topper stated plainly, hiding his frustration well. The Demons sat, though they were ill-tempered about it. DJ Topper waited nearly a minute, ensuring they obeyed before he continued. "Let the first match begin! Lady of the Bladebreakers is up against Kuno Hideaki of the Demons of Tokyo. Bladers, to the dish!"

Hideaki, the second-largest of the team, swaggered up to the dish, attempting to look imposing. Yuri merely took a moment to check that her shawl was firmly pinned in place before walking slowly to the dish. Even though she obviously didn't care, Hideaki sneered at her and menacingly flexed his muscles.

"Are we blading or having a beauty contest? Frankly, I'd win either way," Yuri commented, turning her head slightly away so she was looking at the crowds. He snarled in response. Yuri reached into her pocket and pulled out her beyblade. Still refusing to look at her opponent, she carefully removed the bit from its case around her neck and placed it in the blade, waiting until there was a small flash of light. Then, she prepared to fight.

"I'm going to tear your blade to pieces!"

"Go ahead and try," she stated calmly. Her arms were parallel to the floor and she was waiting for DJ Topper's signal.

"Bladers are you ready?!" Yuri and Hideaki slid into stances, focusing on their opponent.

"THREE!" Hideaki started tensing. At the same time, Yuri took a deep breath and relaxed her muscles.

"TWO!"

"ONE!" Both bladers pulled their cords.

"Let it RIP!" called Yuri, Hideaki, and DJ Topper at the same time. Lrigger and Hideaki's blade flew into the center of the dish where they clashed before spinning towards the sides of the dish.

Hideaki relied completely on power alone to do the job, attempting to slam Lrigger out of the dish. Lrigger gracefully avoided each attempt, waiting till the last moment. After a couple minutes of this, with the time starting to come when Hideaki's blade began to spin more slowly, Yuri acted.

"Drigger! Tiger Scratch Attack!" she called, free hand thrown out in a sweeping arc that covered the dish. Drigger appeared around the blade and dove towards its opponent, carving three deep scratches into the blade itself before casually batting it out of the ring. Drigger then threw the blade back towards Yuri's waiting hand, alighting almost delicately in her palm. She closed her fingers on the twin tiger blade just as the crowd fell completely silent in surprise.

"Lady wins the first round," DJ Topper stated breathlessly. Even he was surprised by this newest development. Looking down at the rest of the Bladebreakers, he was puzzled by what he saw: while Tyson and Max were as surprised as the crowds, Kai was nodding in approval and Rei smirked from his position on the bench. During the break, DJ Topper watched the interactions of the Bladebreakers though he couldn't hear what they were saying.

"Lady, what the hell?!" asked Tyson as she reached the bench. She smirked slightly.

"That, Tyson, would be telling," was her reply. She handed the blade to Rei for a moment, so that he could inspect the blade for damage. He did a quick once-over before simply holding the blade, soaking up the feeling of Drigger and Lrigger in battle-mode.

The second round followed a very similar pattern. In the end, Yuri won and Hideaki's blade was nearly destroyed. The point had been made: there was a girl using Drigger in Rei's place and she kept her true identity hidden. Rei started searching the crowd for Boris or Voltaire.

"Next match! Hiwatari Kai versus Sato Daisuke! Bladers, are you ready?!" DJ Topper got back down to business. Both players walked to the dish. While Daisuke pulled the same stunts as Hideaki, Kai didn't even pay him the attention as Yuri, having less to prove. The entire situation was working out better than they had been hoping for, but Kai focused on his own match.

"THREE!" Both bladers assumed stances, staring at each other across the dish. Kai noticed that Daisuke's stance was flawed: there was a serious imbalance and it would cause the blade to launch off-center, possibly to the dish edge depending on the blader's follow-through.

"TWO!" Kai adjusted his launch position so he would end up directly in the center of the dish, predicting that he could gain full control of the match from the start.

"ONE!" The players pulled their rip cords.

"Let it RIP!" all three shouted. Dranzer ended up directly in the center of the dish, undisturbed by the other blade which was tipping slightly as it sought to stabilize from a faulty launch. Dranzer took advantage of that weak point and without Kai doing more than noticing that very problem, took action. Before even thirty seconds passed since the start of the match, Dranzer had knocked the other blade fully out of the dish. Dranzer returned to the center and spun lazily until DJ Topper had announced the win.

In the following two matches, Dranzer completely dominated in the same manner as Kai always managed. Rei had spotted Boris in the stands about an eighth of the way around the stadium from where his siblings were sitting. He saw the look Boris was directing at Yuri and tried to hide a smile. It was the kind of look they'd been hoping for. Distract the enemy on one front as you seek to come up from behind was a VERY common tactic amongst the Clan and it was working again here. By putting all the attention on a mysterious female blader who was using Drigger, it detracted at least a little from Kai and Tala.

Yuri, on the other hand, was watching Pride of Russia. Since it was impossible to tell where she was looking with her sunglasses on, it was easier for her to pretend to be staring off into space. While the majority of the team seemed to be unaffected by her display, she noticed a couple signs in Tanya and Victor that showed they had begun to recognize the significance of her actions.

By the time Tyson and Max faced off against their opponents in the tag team match, it was a fore-gone conclusion who would move on to the next round. Even if their opponents managed to win, that would still be a solid six to three. Due to the new style of the tournament, winning teams were decided by total number of matches won. Thus, when one match would make the entire difference, it theoretically would make the bladers work harder. If this tournament style worked out, the BBA was considering using it in the National and World Tournaments.

Tyson and Max, as usual, managed to pull off a two-to-one victory. The only reason it was not a clean sweep was due to the general messiness of having four blades in the same dish. Tyson and Max had practiced coordinated attacks, but it was difficult without real opponents to figure out how to manage the issue of space. They had, by dint of sheer luck and knowledge of their partner's style, come out on top.

* * *

Japanese Terms and Culture: Hi-obaasan great-grandmother (fairly formal). Traditionally, in Japanese, the family name is first, followed by the given name; since the story is set in Japan I am following this same tradition.

Additional AN: Thank you to everyone who has continued to review and favorite my story over the year since chapter 12. I appreciate all the kind comments from everyone and the encouragement helped more than you knew. I know that many of you have been waiting anxiously for this new chapter and I appreciate that you have continued to stick with the story. I know how hard that can be to do. I hope this chapter lives up to standard; I'm sorry for the kind of awkward ending. Kiriko has declared that this is the end of the chapter and I can't force beyond this point at the moment though I DO actually know what happens next.

At this point, this chapter is the third longest I've written for Twin Tigers. The story should get written more quickly now since I think Real Life decided to calm down a little more for now. I plan to take advantage of that. It should also begin to move more quickly. Now that I've finally woken Kiriko up, rescued her from Thesis-muse, lured her out of the study and away from the flow charts and family trees, and waited for her to finish luring in plot bunnies with carrots, I have inspiration again. Though I still don't know what the charts are for or exactly what she was doing in the study…

Anyway, until next time, please enjoy the chapter. Reviews are greatly appreciated, especially constructive criticism or comments on possible plotholes.


	15. Trials and Tribulations

AN: First of all, my apologies on the lateness of this chapter on top of what I had promised. Unfortunately RL decided to be extremely busy and attention was absolutely required for it. Also, at the end of November, my computer decided it wanted to go see the computer doctor and was extremely forceful. In fact, it spent two weeks at the computer doctor's while it got a new screen and got checked over. Again, my deepest apologies.

Kong Siblings

Reiken Shing (better known as Rei)—16 going on 17, black hair to mid-thigh, gold cat eyes, oldest, older twin to Yuri.

Yuriko Ling (called Yuri)—16 going on 17, black hair to mid-thigh, gold cat eyes, second eldest, younger twin of Rei by three hours.

Natsuko Meiying (called Natsu)—13, crimson hair to waist, lavender cat eyes, third eldest, single child birth.

Kentarou Jin (called Ken)—10, brown hair to ears (tiny bit messy), marine-blue cat eyes, fourth eldest, oldest triplet.

Kiriko Lee (called Kiri)—10, light blue hair brushing the bottom of her shoulder blades, sapphire-blue cat eyes, fifth born/middle child, middle triplet, younger than Ken by two and a half hours.

Shinryuu Tien (called Shin)—10, brown hair to ears (fairly messy), crystal-blue cat eyes, sixth eldest, youngest triplet, younger than Kiri by thirty minutes.

Ryuuken Sying (called Ryuu)—9, deep violet hair in a traditional Japanese-style haircut, deep violet cat eyes, seventh Kong, single child birth

Aiko Xiang (called Ai)—five and a half, blonde hair brushing her shoulders, lilac cat eyes, eighth Kong, second youngest child, older twin.

Momoko Zhen (called Momo)—five and a half, light pink (think rose pink) hair brushing her shoulders, gold cat eyes, ninth/youngest Kong, younger twin, younger than Ai by one hour.

Trials and Tribulations

Chizuko stepped into Rei's bedroom and found what was becoming a common sight. Kai had ended up sleeping with Rei, both of them having dozed off in the middle of a discussion according to Ryousuke. The butler had found the pair late last night, drawn by the light shining out from Rei's room at twelve a.m., and moved them into more comfortable sleeping positions. They had ended up in the middle of the bed, Rei's arms wrapped tightly around Kai's waist and one of Kai's legs resting between Rei's. She hated to do what she was about to do but it was necessary.

"Rei-sama, Kai-sama, it's time to get up," she called softly from the foot of the bed.

"Mmph," Rei mumbled, burying himself further into the bed and Kai. Kai's eyes fluttered open and Chizuko noticed that he forced himself to relax a little when he realized where he was. It probably didn't help his thoughts that Chizuko didn't seem to mind. But Chizuko was well aware that love happened where it would and that Kai was the best thing to happen to her young master.

Chizuko, knowing how much had to be done in such a limited time today, decided that playing dirty was a necessity.

"Rei-sama, if you do not get up on your own in the next five minutes I will be forced to take _drastic_ measures!" Kai looked at her askance, trying to figure out what she meant by 'drastic.' She slowly counted to thirty before she saw the desired reaction.

"I'm up! I'm up!" Rei cried, quickly untangling himself and sitting up. He scrambled out of bed knowing very well what kind of drastic measures Chizuko was willing to take with unfortunate late-risers. She used half-a-dozen on a regular basis and several others on the rare occasions children became stubborn. Kai followed more sedately, watching Rei's movements as closely as Chizuko. Once it was apparent that Rei moved with nearly no pain, Kai went on to his own room to get ready for the day as well.

"Rei-sama," Chizuko continued once Kai was out of hearing, "please remember that you have not only your appointment with Megumi-sama, you were planning on attending the custody hearings of Masters Kai and Tala. Dress appropriately for a formal setting since it will impress the judge more. And please be careful, you won't be able to take stronger pain medication if you want to be coherent when you are in court. Yuri-sama will be waiting outside with Ai-sama and Momo-sama if their photo shoot finishes on time. Natsu-sama will be staying in the mansion in order to complete some make-up work for her history class—she's fallen behind slightly the last couple of days. The triplets will be out most of the day, since they have some shopping to do. I'll personally be going with them to make sure they don't get in trouble. Ryousuke will stay with Natsu-sama until either I return or Ryuu-sama needs to get to the Main House for his evaluation later this afternoon."

Rei listened carefully as he pulled out several sets of clothing for Chizuko's inspection. What finally met her approval was a set of dark gray dress pants and a dark green button-up shirt. She pulled out a light coat in black since the weather was expected to get a little chilly today. Then, as Rei headed into the bathroom, she left to ensure the others were getting ready for the day.

Rei and Kai both made their way downstairs nearly forty-five minutes later. Kai was wearing black dress trousers and an ice-blue long sleeve button-up shirt. He carried a white jacket and his face lacked the typical blue triangles as another way to irritate his grandfather. They were met by the six middle siblings from Natsu to Ryuu, dressed in more casual clothes as they sat around the breakfast table.

Tala walked in, leaning heavily on his cane just as Rei started sitting down. Kai, already in the chair to Rei's right, watched in slight concern. Tala was wearing his glasses again and dressed warmly in dark jeans and a white corded sweater. It didn't seem to be helping since he shivered even in the warmth of the dining room. He finally managed to sit down next to Kai, with a helpful arm from Kai himself.

Yuri and the twins were the last to come down. Yuri had her hair up in a braided crown with sunglasses perched atop her head for later. She wore a light gray A-line skirt, matching tights, black slip-ons and a simple ruby red long-sleeved blouse. Momo was dressed in a cute rose pink sweater dress, white tights, and white cloth boots. Ai wore light blue blue jeans, a lilac sweater, and white cloth boots. All three also sat down at the table just in time for Chizuko to bring out the food.

* * *

Sagara Megumi arrived shortly after breakfast was done and allowed only Kai and Yuri to be present when she looked at Rei and Tala. Tala was first, since Megumi-san felt that he was in too much pain to afford her honestly waiting. She didn't comment, though both Rei and Yuri could see her mouth thin into a tight, white-lipped line as she turned to Rei. His examination caused some of her anger to fade.

"First of all, Rei-chan, you can start practicing proper kata and your blading as of today. However, take it easy. Remember, it has been months since you received the injury. If you do take it easy and build back up towards it, you will be able to compete in the finals of this ridiculous competition."

"Better to take them on this way than face kidnappings, blackmail, and other less savory routes. At least this way, we know the odds," was Rei's reply. "Thank you, hiobaachan."

"You're welcome. Now, Tala-san…You are causing more damage by trying to rush things. The Clan has a saying I find very prescient here, 'make haste slowly.' If you continue to push yourself I'll have you restricted to bed rest until further notice. You could cause irreparable harm to yourself. You _will_ make a full recovery, I promise, but it will take _time_!" Megumi-hisobo glared at Tala as she spoke, doing her formidable best to force Tala into submission. Considering Sagara Megumi, nee Takani, had nearly 200 years of experience against some of the most stubborn minds in the world, Tala ended up folding very quickly.

"What exactly does 'make haste slowly' mean?" Tala finally asked.

"Don't pull stupid stunts, listen to what a Clan doctor (especially myself) tells you to do, or end up in a Himura and bound to the bed—literally if necessary," Megumi-hisobo continued.

"A 'Himura?'"

"The name comes from the Clan Head, who was the best-known culprit of overdoing it. Since then, any time any Clan member does something that stupid, they are 'in a Himura' and promptly dealt with the same way hiojiisama was back then. No one in the Clan—even the strays—are what society would consider normal," Rei explained. "Every natural-born Clan member tests at or above genius level. We each have at least one specialty that gets developed through Clan teachers. For example, my martial arts training focused more on dexterity, flexibility, and height, where I have an advantage as a three-quarters neko-jin. In academics, my studies are focused on diplomacy and mathematics. The diplomacy I seem to inherited a knack for somewhere and math helps with blading."

"Many of us also have what the outside world would consider supernatural powers," Yuri picked up the conversation, resting a hand lightly on Rei's shoulder. "Momo is probably a precognitive, able to predict the future. Rei and I share something similar to the fabled telepathy of twins the world round. Were a normal outsider to realize this, we would be turned into freaks, experimented on, and hated by those who are 'normal.' The Clan worked out a system a long time ago for us that protects us and fosters our powers while making sure we can blend in with the rest of the world."

Here, Megumi broke in again, frowning playfully at her descendents. "That is why some of the Clan who are gifted in the medical fields only work within the Clan. That grants us protection from any 'abnormalities' appearing in the public eye."

"This is a lot to take in," Tala commented, a look of overwhelming confusion on his face. Kai's face also expressed confusion.

"Every member of the Clan learns these lessons in time. Strays often take longer if only because they don't have that instinctive grasp from living it all their lives. But it _is_ information you need to know," Megumi commented. "Once the hearing today is over, you'll probably be assigned Clan teachers of your own, though I don't know who. Serenity will most likely be in charge of that."

"Serenity?"

"That's right," Yuri commented, "that was before you arrived. We call her Hime, since she is due to become Clan Head of our generation in about a year. She's being given more responsibility as time goes on to prepare her. I'm sure you'll meet her today."

"You talk as if the hearing's outcome has already been decided," Tala commented. Even with all the proof of just how close the Kongs could be, he had trouble believing they could prevent him being taken back.

"All evidence when I saw you nearly _two_ _weeks_ after the incident that landed you in the state you are today point to abuse. Since our family is well-known for taking in the abused, the abandoned, and the misunderstood, there is a very high likelihood of the Japanese court ruling in our favor. That's why all of us fought so hard for the hearing to be held here, even if you are from Russia. It strengthens our case considerably." Megumi used a tone of voice even her descendents had rarely heard, one of anger so deep it would cause her husband to start breaking bones without question. Anger well-known only to the first generation of the Clan that Megumi took pains to only let out as necessary.

Everyone soon went their separate ways, with Megumi accompanying Rei, Kai, and Tala to the courtrooms.

* * *

"That went rather well, actually," commented the Clan lawyer as he watched Rei sign the papers officially entering Kai and Tala into the Himura Clan records. Megumi smiled in response. The private hearing had gone better than anyone could have hoped for. Megumi, Serenity, Rei, Kai, Tala, and the Clan lawyer were present for their side. Voltaire, Boris, and two slimy lawyers had been present to press Voltaire's case.

"If you don't take into consideration Voltaire's screaming fit, then yes, it did," Yuri replied as she walked into the room, each of the younger twins holding onto one of her hands. The Clan lawyer twitched in response and it was only because he was from the Clan that he didn't question how she knew.

"We'll just have to make sure to beat him in the finals to finish the job. If we can manage that, his right to challenge for the Bit Beasts will be nullified permanently," was Rei's response.

"Are you sure about that?" Tala asked. Rei and Yuri both nodded in response.

"You will see this through," Sere said. "But Reiken, you are not allowed to use either Drigger _or_ Lrigger until the final round against Boris's team, is that clear?"

"Yes, Hime."

"Why?" asked Kai, not bothering to conceal his confusion.

"The strain of controlling a Kami Bit Beast will reverse much of the progress that has been made in Reiken's recovery. Also, be sure to only use one Bit at any one time for as long as possible, Yuri-chan. The strain will not affect you quite as much that way. You ARE lucky that the two are twins like you are, it's the only way you are going to be able to pull this off without permanent damage."

"As you wish, Hime," was Yuri's reply.

"How do _you _know about the Kami Bit Beasts?" asked Tala. Serenity ended up smiling secretively.

"Let's just say that the Kami Bit Beasts are so old that they show up in more…_esoteric _sources that I have access to. Don't worry, all my sources also confirm that any Bit Beast can only be controlled by its true master. Wolberg would never listen to another."

"You learn to just accept that Hime knows things about everyone and everything, it _is _basically in her job description. We think someday she _might_ even tell us where she gets this information," Megumi commented, looking fondly down at her great-granddaughter.

"Even you call her Hime? I thought that was just a nickname that her generation came up with," the Clan lawyer broke in. He was a fairly distant relation and hadn't seemed much interested in learning the minutia of Clan history.

"Yes, we originally came up with the nickname at her miko blessing on her fortieth day." What Megumi was referring to was the fact that, whenever a birth was known of, a miko would be brought in to read that child's future after forty days. "Which reminds me," she continued, "we still need to have Kagome-chan read these adorable twins." Both Momo and Ai hid slightly behind Yuri. It wasn't that they were scared of Megumi, per se, but just so unused to being considered precious to anyone other than their own siblings.

"Hiobaachan won't hurt you," Yuri said softly, pulling Ai forward first. Megumi bent down to their level in order to seem less adult. After Ai tentatively reached forward to accept a hug from her great-great-aunt, Yuri pushed Momo forward too. Megumi, for the first time, pulled both twins into a hug that they returned with interest. Since none of the three participants were willing to let go, Megumi managed to stand up while moving a twin to rest on each hip. It showed how experienced she was with children, since that was a move that took skill and a serious amount of practice.

"I want you to listen closely little Momoko, little Aiko—this is a lesson every member of the Clan should know by the time they are your age and it is OUR fault you never got the chance to learn it before. EVERY child is precious and deserves the support of the entire Clan," Megumi spoke softly, imbuing her voice with all the love she felt for these two precious additions to the Clan. "The first Clan rule is that Clan comes first. The second rule is that children belong to the Clan first and their parents second. Had we realized your mother was pregnant on that fateful trip I swear we would have sent someone else with her. But we never knew and she died before we could locate all of you. You _are_ loved and we very much want to help you figure out what you want in life. Kagome-chan is just about Yuriko's age and she's very sweet."

"What is a reading?" Momo asked.

"Kagome-chan will look at your aura and your soul and figure out what your strengths and weaknesses are, as well as what career will be best for you. The readings don't hurt and they are always very accurate, even when we used Miko Aya until Kagome-chan was born. Based on the reading, we'll be able to assign Clan teachers to you."

"Clan teachers?" asked Ai.

"You know how I've had Ryuu, Kiri, Natsu, Shin, and Ken paired with an adult each?" Sere asked. Momo and Ai both nodded, having been a little jealous of the personal attention all of their siblings had received. "After the reading I'll be able to know who can be best paired with you. They'll work with you on academics and martial arts. We haven't had a chance to have your reading yet because Kagome-chan has been out of town. She'll be home for a bit soon and we'll get you in to see her then." Momo and Ai both had expressions of understanding on their faces. Now they understood why the reading would be important for them and they were happy that they hadn't been forgotten.

"Oh," Sere suddenly exclaimed. Everyone looked at her strangely. Her cheeks gained a rose tint from her blush. "I need to get going. The evaluations start today and I need to be at the main house for it! I nearly forgot!"

"That's why I'm here, Hime," commented a young man from the doorway, his dark blue eyes twinkling. His short blond hair was ruffled slightly from the outside winds. He was wearing a school uniform: a crisp long-sleeved white collared shirt, dark blue slacks, a dark blue tie, and dark blue loafers. The tie was loosened and slightly askew, giving him a rakish appearance. As he had spoken, the door softly clicked closed.

"Haruka!" Sere exclaimed happily before what he said sank in. "Are you driving?" she asked suspiciously, eyes narrowed.

"Yes, but the hood is up and I promise that I'll obey the speed limits. You have forty-five minutes before the first evaluation starts." Megumi had been frowning until that point, but relaxed slightly with those assurances. Sere bid a quick goodbye to everyone and followed her first cousin out the door, carrying the legal papers to be filed at the Main House.

"Why did Haruka find it necessary to state that he would follow the speed limits?" Yuri asked.

"Haruka is a racer in his free time, despite being in school still. He tends to regard speed limits as restrictive demands of the government as a result," was Megumi's reply.

"Oh dear," Yuri exclaimed.

"Don't worry, he's careful with Hime." The older twins accepted Megumi's comment, knowing she was undoubtedly right.

* * *

That night, the Kong family gathered in the parlor after dinner. Natsu knelt on the floor with her back to the fireplace as she poured the green tea into each cup on the tray. Also on the tray were small dessert plates, a stack of napkins (enough for twice the number of people if you didn't count the fact that younger children tended to be messy), and forks for all. Ai was tucked between Yuri and Tala, with Tala scrunched over as far to the other side of the sofa as possible. The triplets were lined up by birth order almost naturally on the other sofa, jostling each other for spots. Momo sat between Kai and Rei on the smallest sofa, with one of her older brother's arms wrapped around her to prevent her from falling.

After the tea was poured and distributed, with Natsu deciding to stay curled up on the floor as she played hostess, Chizuko came breezing in carrying a handmade cake. It was, of course, very well made and it had 'Welcome home Kai, Tala' written on it in Yuri's elegant hand. Both young men were surprised by the thought and Tala even voiced it.

"Don't be silly," Rei replied, "the papers we signed today brought you into the family officially as you have been _unofficially _since starting to live with us. As such, this is now as much your house as it is ours."

"Kai already has a permanent room upstairs of course. Once you're better and able to climb stairs more easily, you can have your choice of any empty room in the house for your own," Yuri continued easily.

"Thank you," was the only thing Tala could say. The entire family and Chizuko smiled in reply. To a family used to hardship for most of their lives, any reason to celebrate was celebrated with gusto.

Eventually, it was nearly eleven and only five children were up: Rei, Yuri, Kai, Tala, and Natsu. The other six were in bed or finishing up to get there. Seeing the look that her oldest brother shot at her Natsu quietly excused herself to spend some time relaxing. Kai had noticed the 'look' but said nothing, while Tala seemed oblivious.

"The problem is, while I've been cleared for training, I'm going to have to build back UP to competition levels. And they should be national levels to be safe against the 'Pride of Russia,'" Rei started off by saying as soon as Natsu's footsteps could no longer be heard.

"What was your Hime talking about earlier about Yuri being able to handle Drigger and then one person one Bit Beast? That seems contradictory to me," Tala commented.

"It's because they're twins," Kai replies. "Yuri's Bit Beast is Byakko no Lrigger, Drigger's female twin, specialty silver to his gold. Their Bit Beasts mirror their own aspects as twins and, since they are so similar and twins with admitted paranormal abilities, it really isn't all THAT surprising that they can switch off."

"That's how we're pulling off this entire thing in the first place. Voltaire is so damn sure that he can get whatever he wants and we're providing two things to him: the proof that another person can wield the Kami Bit Beasts—especially since he doesn't know Yuri is Yuri and my twin sister—and that Drigger is being used by some worthless female, which is all he really thinks about," Rei concluded. "To get back to the main point since I want to go to bed soon, I probably won't be ready to compete until the last week of this competition. At that, I'll only be able to participate if it's a tag team with Yuri."

"I'll talk to Mr. Dickinson tomorrow when I call him for the weekly check up. Maybe he can arrange for it to appear 'randomly' selected. It will be the best tactic," Kai replied. All three of the others looked at him in surprise. "I _said_ I'd think about it and I did. Besides, it will tick my grandfather off which will be even better." That appeased them.

"Let's go to bed. We should get back to practicing tomorrow. Which reminds me, aniki, now that you can train I need your help with a few more of the details of my style when I'm copying you."

"You'll have it Yuri. Night all," Rei replied, standing up. They all made their way to their respective rooms and went to bed, more comfortable now that one of the main problems had been handled.

* * *

Japanese Terminology:

-chan/-kun/-san/-sama are references to another from least to greatest formality. (-chan) is usually used only on young children or girls.

In this story, I have followed the Japanese tradition of giving family names before given names. The word nee refers to the former last name—usually of a woman—that was held before marriage (i.e. Sagara Megumi nee Takani means the woman Megumi who is now Mrs. Sagara but was born Takani).

Hisobo/hiobaachan/hiobaasan/hiobaasama: great-grandmother from least to greatest formality.

Kata: martial arts forms, similar to dances due to the regulation of their steps.

Hisofu/hiojiichan/hiojiisan/hiojiisama: great-grandfather from least to greatest formality.

Neko-jin: literally, cat person. In reference to Rei's family and their people in China.

Hime: literally means princess, used in this story as Tsukino Serenity's nickname.

Kami: god or goddess (not always necessarily human).

Miko: female priestess of the Shinto religions (often a virgin though some accounts claim they still remained pure after marriage).

Aniki: informal for "older brother" and here, the way Yuri refers to Rei's position as eldest.

* * *

AN: As always, constructive criticism is welcome as are the pointing out of any glaring errors. I still do most of my own editing since it would take about four times as long to wait on my beta, who gets them much later. This year, I hope to start updating my LJ site with the beta'd versions as well as snippets I can't place here.

I again apologize for the lateness, the chapter was in need of serious rewriting. Let me know how the flow feels, I personally think it's choppy and any suggestions as to how to help would be appreciated. Till next time! We've only got a few chapters left! Enjoy!


	16. Delays of Destruction

AN: Here's the next chapter, in by the end of the month, even. Thank you for reading. Enjoy!

Kong Siblings

Reiken Shing (better known as Rei)—16 going on 17, black hair to mid-thigh, gold cat eyes, oldest, older twin to Yuri.

Yuriko Ling (called Yuri)—16 going on 17, black hair to mid-thigh, gold cat eyes, second eldest, younger twin of Rei by three hours.

Natsuko Meiying (called Natsu)—13, crimson hair to waist, lavender cat eyes, third eldest, single child birth.

Kentarou Jin (called Ken)—10, brown hair to ears (tiny bit messy), marine-blue cat eyes, fourth eldest, oldest triplet.

Kiriko Lee (called Kiri)—10, light blue hair brushing the bottom of her shoulder blades, sapphire-blue cat eyes, fifth born/middle child, middle triplet, younger than Ken by two and a half hours.

Shinryuu Tien (called Shin)—10, brown hair to ears (fairly messy), crystal-blue cat eyes, sixth eldest, youngest triplet, younger than Kiri by thirty minutes.

Ryuuken Sying (called Ryuu)—9, deep violet hair in a traditional Japanese-style haircut, deep violet cat eyes, seventh Kong, single child birth

Aiko Xiang (called Ai)—five and a half, blonde hair brushing her shoulders, lilac cat eyes, eighth Kong, second youngest child, older twin.

Momoko Zhen (called Momo)—five and a half, light pink (think rose pink) hair brushing her shoulders, gold cat eyes, ninth/youngest Kong, younger twin, younger than Ai by one hour.

Delays of Destruction

Kai was woken up around three in the morning as he heard thumping from the adjoining room. Realizing what it probably was, he made a mental note to remind Rei to walk SOFTLY first thing in the morning when getting ready to practice. Then, Kai drifted back off, comfortable enough in the house to know everyone was safe. There was another temporary disturbance, much quieter, closer to five. Then, nothing until around 7:45, when Momo came running in to wake up her sleepy brother and Kai.

"Wake up! Wake up! I wanna eat and Chizuko-san said we can't until you two come down!" she cried. The sound of both her voice and the bouncing on the bed was enough to call Kai out of his own bed in the next room, even as Rei tried to grab her.

Eventually, Rei managed to snag her arm and drag her down. He started tickling her as revenge until she was shrieking and giggling so hard that she was having some trouble breathing.

"AHH! STOP! STOP! I'll be good…promise!" she gasped.

"I'll take the rugrat," Kai offered from their shared doorway, already dressed and ready to go. "You still have to get ready. C'mon Momo." Momo scampered over, and took Kai's hand before beginning to pull him out.

"You better come down soon, aniki, or Chizuko-san says she won't feed you at all!"

"Give me five minutes, Momo and I'll be down. Just behave. …And make sure the others behave too," Rei responded, mostly to Kai. Kai nodded as the door closed behind them. Rei ended up collapsing back onto the bed momentarily, worn out by his practice earlier that morning.

"Damn, didn't realize how bad it had gotten. Well, better get up," Rei said to no one in particular. He slowly made his way over to the bathroom and downed two of the slightly stronger pain meds before getting ready as quickly as possible despite the sore muscles. It took him several minutes of struggling to get his hair into a half-way decent ponytail.

When Rei first entered the dining room all six females giggled at his disheveled appearance. Eventually, Yuri took pity on her twin and stood behind him as she fixed his hair.

"Pain?" she asked softly, finger-combing out the few snarls Rei had been unable to reach.

"Mm. Took some meds, should be okay in a bit," he replied, equally as soft. As she moved past him and back to her seat, he reached out and trailed a couple fingers across her shoulder. "Thanks, Ling."

"Always, Shing. Now sit, before Momo and Ai throw a tantrum."

"Yes'm." Rei sat between Kai and Natsu with a smile on his face. While seating was not set in stone, most of the siblings had already claimed favorite seats and were often found in them. Rei studied the visual effects of his family all together in one room. He was surprised by what he saw. Many of the Kong family were stunningly beautiful, even the males, in that kind of 'careless' style that came from either not realizing or not caring. Staring at his twin long enough for her to look back curiously, he noticed that she had practically turned into their mother almost overnight. Her other-worldly beauty was only enhanced by her lack of make up or any other sort of beauty product. With a start, Rei realized that, looking almost like a male identical twin, he probably looked quite similar.

"Well, the others should be arriving shortly," Yuri commented casually, tearing a croissant to pieces with her fingers. The nervous gesture did not go unnoticed by the other bladers.

"Do we keep with the decision to wait until the finals to reveal Yuri's identity?" Rei asked casually.

"Yes," Kai replied. "It is perhaps the largest advantage we still have over Boris and Voltaire. Their precious 'Pride of Russia' is nastier than the Blitz Krieg Boys ever were…no offense Tala."

"None taken," was the reasonable reply. "We were trained to be militaristic in nature and most of what we did during the tournament was forced by Boris at Voltaire's request. With us out of their reach they would have less trained options."

"Meaning thugs," Yuri continued, catching on. "So they would have only been able to find unknowns and turn them into 'stars.' And the people most likely to be willing to do that would have few morals."

"Exactly," Kai replied. "We've seen that they have a complete disregard for anything but winning, often in as bloody a manner as possible. I've got the Chief focused on getting all possible information on their styles and Mr. Dickinson promised as much as he could find on their lives in general."

"So let's finish up here, get the kids set up for the morning, and get outside to practice," Rei stated, ignoring the groans from the younger kids and an indignant sound from Natsu at being called a kid. Yuri, however, glared briefly at all of them to silence them. It was a simple reminder to Kai and Tala that the eldest Kongs ruled their family completely, but gently. Chizuko, who had been watching the spectacle and listening in on the conversation, had merely smiled. It was good to see Yuri and Rei quickly and efficiently handle most disciplinary matters despite their age.

* * *

Rei carefully pulled the ripcord and Drigger's blade landed dead center in the middle of the dish. The blade spun there for a while before it started tracing intricate patterns in the dish. Yuri was, on Kai's 'orders' standing next to him and observing how Rei controlled his blade.

"It's basically all mental control," Rei started, bringing Yuri out of the daze she was in. Even though the weather was warmer today, she still wore her caftan, head shawl, and sunglasses to disguise her appearance. She looked at her twin in confusion.

"Think of it like the bond we share. You can slip in and grab whatever information you need at any time, but you can also catch a kind of running commentary of my thoughts all the time if you pay attention."

"So the blades are the same way?" she asked, confused.

"Not quite. That's what makes Bit Beasts so important. The blade itself follows simple commands and intentions of its user, but only those with a Bit Beast are capable of the kind of control necessary for professional tournament levels. The Bit Beasts are tied so closely to their wielder that they are often a reflection of that person's true self," was Rei's reply.

"Huh. So I should basically do the same thing with Lrigger and Drigger that I would do if I wanted to tell you something?" came the question. At Rei's nod, she made a gesture towards the dish. Drigger's blade shot out of the dish and Rei deftly grabbed it out of thin air. He made a sweeping gesture towards the dish as he stepped back.

Yuri placed Lrigger's blade in the launcher and focused on the blade. Finally, after several seconds, she felt a warm connection with the blade. It was almost like a heartbeat. Mentally reaching for it, she launched her blade.

Lrigger's blade landed on the very edge of the dish, spinning across the entire edge perfectly balanced. At Yuri's further command, the blade began to spin in an intricate lace pattern. The movements of the blade were much sharper, much tighter, and much more accurate than they had ever been before. By recognizing and working with her link to the blade, Yuri had upped her control to a full one hundred percent rather than the eighty-five percent she had been working with before. She felt the difference keenly: it felt very similar to getting a form right for the first time and knowing each movement was absolutely perfect.

"Thanks Rei," Yuri whispered when Lrigger's blade returned. He gave her a one-armed hug in reply, turning to watch Kai terrorize Tyson.

* * *

The following day, Rei was quietly thankful for the absence of the other Kongs as the newest opponent fell to the Pride of Russia. Her wounds would eventually heal, though she would be in the hospital for at least several days. The dish had been torn nearly in two from the brutality of the attacks.

"Ladies and gentlemen," DJ Topper began after a quiet conversation with BBA representatives including Mr. Dickinson, "as a result of the matches so far today, the dish needs to be replaced. The remaining matches for this morning are postponed until tomorrow. Compensation will be available for all of those unable to return tomorrow."

Boos and shouts of dismay rocked the stadium. Considering that the Bladebreakers were supposed to be facing off against their second-round opponents—the Light Masters—only four days later, it was obvious to Rei and Kai that at least some of that dismay came from the worry that it would affect their match as well. At that point, the Bladebreakers left the stadium, heading for food at Tyson's insistence.

They ended up at a small pizzeria and everyone ordered their own things. Tyson munched happily away at the fourth slice from his second whole pizza just as everyone else was starting. As usual, in order to survive, most of the team was refusing to watch Tyson, focusing on their own food. Despite the dim light in the pizzeria, Yuri kept her sunglasses on, causing stares from other customers and the wait-staff. She had a single slice of pizza and a small side salad, which she ate meticulously. She was very careful to not get any pizza on her caftan as well, though she did not resort to using a fork to eat it.

In all, they drew a lot of attention from passersby as they walked around for a while, not willing to go back to training just yet. Several people stopped Tyson, Kai, Rei, and/or Max to take pictures with them or have something autographed. It was an interesting phenomenon for Tala and Yuri to watch from the sidelines. Even when Rei glared at the pair for laughing out loud during a stream of particularly insistent female fans, the pair simply pointed out that neither of them was famous and it certainly wasn't _their_ fault that girls seemed to like long hair on their man or that the girls were attracted to injured bladers.

Even Kai smiled at the sight of Rei surrounded by that gaggle of girls, which scared the hell out of Tyson when he managed to see it. As a result, Tyson ran screaming about the apocalypse beginning. Max and Kenny chased after him in an attempt to stop him before a police officer intervened. Rei sat next to Yuri and reached around her to whap Tala on the back of the head.

"Ow!" Tala stated calmly, obviously faking. "What was that for?"

"Not helping me out," Rei replied. "And pretending you're fine. Bet it's time for your meds now."

"Is it?" asked Yuri, looking at Tala. At his sheepish nod, she growled and began to dig through her pockets for the small pillbox she was carrying around. She started lecturing him as she handed him the pills he needed to take. Rei smirked in revenge before a cup of water and two pills were thrust in his face by Kai.

"Since the children have run off," Kai began, "let's head home. I'm sure we all have some things to do. It will take a while before the others can even catch Tyson." His suggestion was accepted readily enough and the four members of the Kong family went home.

AN: Not much happening in this chapter…Kiri is more interested in other things. I apologize for the shortness but this was a good place to stop. Constructive criticism and reviews are welcome. Thank you.


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